Lockdown for travellers: 5 simple ways to bring joy & colour to your life [FlaTherapy]
In times of Covid-19, travellers may not be going places, but through some tough times instead. However, born explorers can still have fun by rediscovering their nearest surroundings and adding more colour to their houses, flats and rooms.
If you’re tired of waiting for BIG changes and miracles (like the end of the pandemic) that will change your life in one fell swoop, I recommend you start small today. As they say, it is slow but steady who wins the race.
The ideas that you’ll find in this post are easy and quick to implement. They also cost little to nothing. Beware, however: as they’re pretty simple, you may feel tempted to underestimate the positive knock-on effects they may have on your daily life.
So go for colours in your (more sedentary) life with fridge magnets, slinkies, mandalas, Kindle cases, blue mice (yes indeed), bottle green furniture and more.
Lockdown, travellers & the power of colour
If you’re an explorer, traveller, vagabond, nomad and in general you keep yourself on the move, the pandemic may have changed your lifestyle immensely. It has definitely changed mine, but I must say it has been an amazing year for me.
I’ve redefined and better understood many aspects of my life and I’ve also come to see that there’s no limit to good things that I can enjoy on a daily basis. And I don’t need to travel that far to do that!
Furthermore, I’ve discovered that colours can affect change in our lives. They have the power to boost creativity and calm agitated minds. Colours can dramatically affect moods, thoughts and feelings. They can help us create an environment that will be soothing and relaxing or stimulating and energetic.
Go for your favourite colours and start adding more colour to your world now (before you start travelling the world again)!
#1 Fridge magnets
“The importance of fridge magnets in the life of a traveller”: this could be an idea for an article, right?
First, a few moments of contemplation and confessions from a former travel addict.
Many friends of mine collect fridge magnets and love putting them on their fridges. I’ve noticed, though, that hardly anyone truly appreciates their presence when all those brand new magnets finally make themselves at home.
Barney Stinson from HIMYM used to: “New is always better”. You may know this feeling well. You’re getting an endorphin rush when you’re visiting a new place and here’s another fridge magnet to grow your impressive colourful collection.
New experiences, new things, new places… seductive, addictive or both?
At some point it’s inevitable: the novelty wears off. You stop feeling excited about “new” things and places because actually they’re no longer new and you want something else.
Constantly chasing new experiences can’t bring you lasting satisfaction, though. At least not in the long run.
Collecting experiences may seem to be different to collecting material things, such as cars, houses, designer clothes, gadgets and so on.
In reality, however, the core is basically the same. This is what I discovered when I realised I was a compulsive traveller, addicted to buying plane tickets and adding new countries and experiences to my list.
At some point I noticed it was another mind game. I had already visited so many places, yet I was dissatisfied, I wanted more. It was both exciting and exhausting.
These days I still love travelling, but there’s far less compulsion, and not only due to the pandemic. I’m spending much more time in local forests and I like to take time to explore my local area. I’ve come to see such experiences as worthy as my visit to India.
These days I tend to pay more attention to my fridge magnets
Fridge magnets add plenty of colour to my surroundings. They also bring back nice memories and appreciation of what I’ve already experienced. This doesn’t make me frustrated about the new Covid reality or angry that this was the perfect past and it’s gone forever.
Far from it. My magnets make me smile. I truly appreciate that I’ve had so many travel opportunities in my life already. I’m looking forward to more, but at the same time there are so many things I’m discovering currently: in my flat, in my garden, being with my friends and family or simply spending time on my own.
Life seems to be simpler and I’d say even more rewarding on many levels. I’ve come to realise that the state of inner joy has not much to do with travelling long distances.
This has been very liberating for my former “compulsive traveller persona”.
#2 Rainbow coloured slinky
Enough of contemplation. Now I’ll give you a few more ideas on how to make your life more colourful and enjoyable (hopefully) when you’re locked down and without any prospects of hitting the road again.
I love rainbow coloured slinkies. You may love them, too, but you may not even remember this fact. Did you play with slinkies when you were a child? I did and I still do today.
They’re colourful, optimistic, fun and relaxing. Playing with a slinky helps me refocus and get grounded. It also brings back the sense of lightness.
If you find meditation too ‘boring or difficult’, this can be a nice alternative. Easy to get, easy to accommodate in your flat and nice to play with!
#3 Mandalas & crayons
I discovered mandalas when I decided to buy an extra item online to benefit from free delivery. So I picked mandalas for my little niece. As the two of us were colouring them together, I fell in love with this activity almost immediately. I felt relaxed, super creative and present.
Colouring mandalas can also be a revelation if you find sitting still and meditating challenging. Colouring can instantly quiet your mind. Also, if you complain about not being creative, start simple and colour a mandala!
I personally like simple mandalas that are not too detailed. I like experimenting with colours (probably most of my experiments wouldn’t be approved by most designers :D)
Mandalas are now part of my daily life and literally add colour to it!
#4 Kindle case
Do you like reading books when on the road? Now you may need to do it predominantly from the comfort of your sofa.
I’m a big fan of paper books. I thought I’d never get a kindle, i.e. commit heresy. At some point of my life, though, I realised that I didn’t have enough space for more books. Some of them I gave away, but I was still planning to read more and purchase more paperbacks.
So it eventually dawned on me: “By choosing to read more books on a kindle, I’d save both space and (perhaps) some trees”.
Anyway. Even though I like black kindle cases most, I also have a cute, blue one with an owl sitting on a branch. Not only does it make my kindle pretty appealing to me, but it’s also an important element in my flat: for both practical and decorative purposes.
#5 Bottle green couch
When I was about to buy a couch, I realised that it’d probably be one of the most important and central pieces of furniture in my flat.
I went for a bottle green, velvet sofa and I can’t get enough of touching it (however weird it may sound!). As a nature lover, I’m fascinated by the green colour: it has a calming effect on me and it’s also pretty sensual too.
Bonus: blue mouse & other colourful items
If you’re now spending more time at home, why not sprinkle a little bit of colour here and there? Of course I don’t necessarily encourage you to transform your flat into a kindergarten or a circus (unless you want to).
However, occasional colourful and/or unusual objects can make your living space really interesting. I prefer to do it in a subtle way yet it’s totally up to you what works best for you!
Now your turn: colour your world!
If you have your own suggestions on how to bring more colour and joy to your surroundings in the world where country boundaries seem to be back, feel free to share in the comment section below!
