Cameron Moll, blogger and web standards pioneer, wrote this week about the epiphanies had “under the cadence of falling water”–in the shower.
Moll explains, in what I believe to be one of his best posts of all time, how the self-imposed interruption of taking a shower gives a moment for uninterrupted passive thought–where the body’s business with the monotonous activity of cleaning itself leaves the brain is left to carelessly wander–often in ways that yeild answers sought or frees blocked creativity. He cites the work of Edward de Bono and Professor Lajos Székely, who described the creative pause, and Moll makes a case for a shower being a perfect creative pause.
I say: Brilliant!
Often times, when lost in creative block I head to the shower. It seems natural for me, I guess. Some of my greatest ideas come as a result of a peaceful warm shower (or cool shower if after a hot summer day in AZ). One in particular stands out, because not only do I consider it one of my favorite moments of creativity ever, but also because I made a big deal about it coming to me in the shower.
My friend Kieran Thompson and I were hanging out an Order of the Arrow event in spring 2006 when we discussed a competition coming up for the 2006 National Order of the Conference (NOAC). The shows committee was holding a short-film competition and he and I decided to go for it. The prizes were cool: front-row seating at one of the arena shows for our entire group and our film being shown to the whole conference. We planned a day to do it, and then didn’t speak for six weeks.
The night before we were going to see each other, we didn’t have a story. I had to come up with one. As I packed my bags for the trip I would depart for the next day, I mulled it over. Finally, in the shower before bed, the night before I left, it came to me. The story was perfect for the theme, and it was a hit with Kieran. After a little bit of further development with my partner, we made the film and it won. Now “No Sash, No Flap, No Service” is immortalized on YouTube, though if you are unfamiliar with the Order of the Arrow, it may seem confusing to you.
Mr. Moll put into words and then explained something that I have believed for a long time, and while I read his well thought article my dittos were following every sentence. I believe wholeheartly that taking a shower is a great way to open your mind to its creative side, and that the showertime perceptivity reaps great rewards.