The closer a person gets to the unknown, the more inventive they become – the quicker they adopt new ways.
Buckminster Fuller
To enter into the unknown (to partake in an experiment) involves a willingness to fully experience and study things we don’t understand, and to embrace that lack of understanding.
There are different ways of getting lost. There is the literal lost, as in being lost in the woods unable to find your way back to the starting point. Or there are metaphorical examples of being lost: lost in one’s head, a lost soul, lost in time. In the context of exploring, we can think of it in terms of existing in a state where you do not know exactly where you are headed. In this sense, we may choose to become either literally lost, exploring a place we’ve never been before… or lost in the sense that we enter into a relationship with objects and ideas without knowing what the outcome will be.
How to Wander Aimlessly
- Pick a day and time.
- Pack a bag (Journal, Pen/Markers, Wallet, Book, Snacks)
- Start heading in any direction. Act ONLY on instinct.
- Do the opposite of what you think you should.
- If you start to think you are wasting your time, then you are doing it correctly.
- Keep Going. Pay attention to the details. Lose all sense of time and place.
- Share your Takeaways from this Challenge
This is an excerpt from “How to be an Explorer of the World” by Keri Smith
In her book you will learn “To document and observe the world around you. As if you’ve never seen it before. Take notes. Collect things you find on your travels. Document findings. Notice patterns. Copy. Trace. Focus on one thing at a time. Record what you are drawn to.”
