How might we keep focused and inspired on a bustling city trip?
Our lives are split into two worlds: the hyper-real world of the fast and the reflective world of the slow. We find ourselves torn between these two worlds, constantly online and in the know with social media but longing to disconnect until we’re refreshed and recharged.
The year was 2013. I travelled from Delft to Amsterdam on a Saturday morning in May. I was about to meet friends arriving from Vienna to spend the weekend here. The Dutch capital was packed with tourists. Market disruptors such as Airbnb and low-cost flights several times a day have contributed to this epidemic, which has become a common way of seeing travel.
The bustling streets of the city centre can leave visitors wishing to steer away from the madding crowd. Like any other worldwide capital, the stimulation of the noisy and hyper-real world wears down the senses, leaving us dull, indifferent and unable to focus on what matters.
If we have reached the peak of distraction, then taking the time to distance ourselves from the noisy tracks and explore the less visited places boosts our mental sanity. How fun would that be?
As my friends were staying only for the weekend in a city familiar to me, I thought to rediscover it through a joyous exploration and make the usual roads inspiring for them and me.
In a new place, we pay attention to everything we see. As time passes, the areas become familiar and lose their inherent novelty. But they can be inspiring too.
Every day is filled with opportunities to experience beautiful simple things. We must look at usual things with unusual eyes to be eager and evolve. What we do with our attention is at the heart of what makes us human.
We started with an explorative walk by letting the colour be our guide. We allowed ourselves to feel sensitized to the colour in our surroundings.
We let a few queries be our guide:
- the colours we became aware of first
- the colours revealing themselves slowly
- the relationship colours we noticed
- the ones we observed and did not expect to find
- the colours that appear to change over time
Interestingly, through nonverbal communication, we were amazed how the city could emanate so much to you if you focused on it. You start to perceive unusual hints, making the visual experience a unique way of looking.
There were a few different stops we made. However, I remember we went to the Eye Film museum and hunted for a feeling. Besides the cafe overlooking the river, to our surprise, we came across the Fellini exhibition and decided to go.
To monitor our surroundings is to focus on what’s outside ourselves: what we see, hear, smell, feel and perhaps even taste. But sometimes, what marks a place is something less specific — a feeling within us.
They guided us through the exhibition and let us explore not only through the novelty of the imaginary constructions of the characters in the movies and their background but also through the moods and sensations we felt — a quick snapshot version of an internal reflection on what we thought of the journey.
Our life experience will equal what we have paid attention to, whether by choice or default. — William James.
This experience helped me stay focused while navigating Amsterdam with novel eyes, remain eager, and find inspiration in everyday encounters. It was with unusual ways of sensing the world around me and avoiding the crowd’s noise.
There will be other examples I will share of experiencing city trips through multi-sensorial ways, which naturally overcome noise and boost focus on us. Stay tuned if you want to gather a few ideas on how to rediscover cities with unusual eyes.
