J.G. Chayko

Sometimes a writer needs a quiet space, a place to escape the constant barrage of technology and uproar that make up a big part of our lives. It’s a chance to break away from the toxic blocks that sabotage us when the work isn’t going well. As much as we love our work, (most of the time), we still need to take a break from it. We need the opportunity to clear our minds and allow new elements to feed our creative life.

The space can be any place that takes you away from the constant din of emails, deadlines, familial, work, and social obligations for a little while. A place where you can just breathe in the white noise of stillness. Sometimes that place is a park, a place in the woods, a spa, a lake or even one’s own home when no one else is around.

One of my places of retreat is a local float spa. In that space I am completely cocooned from the world. It’s a place where I can slow down and evade the endless stimulation of city life. The quiet space gives me room to remove the clutter from my mind and allow those ephemeral ideas floating on the peripheral edges of my consciousness to come alive – I need only to escape the noise from the rest of the world to hear them.

The float spa is only one of my quiet places, and I only use it once every few months. It’s not financially feasible to go off to a float spa every week, so I utilize the ordinary spaces around me. My own patio at twilight, when the neighbourhood has been tranquilized by dusk, is a charming respite after a long day.

Everyone should find a quiet space to shelter in when the world gets too loud. In that space, we can discover new worlds, breathe in fresh sentences, and uncover the characters hiding in the chaos of a busy life. In that quiet space, we can submerge ourselves in the well of our own creativity and discover how to love our muse all over again.