The Power of Wander: Spontaneity as Fuel for Creativity
- Sasha Mirzoyan
- Jul 6
- 6 min read
The Power of Wander
Reframing my story allowed me to stop seeing my brain’s tendencies as flaws to fix and instead see them as superpowers to harness. I stopped resisting and began to surrender.
Wondering About Wandering
Last summer I had some fun and invigorating wandering around. I joined my friend and fellow artist Sean Fitzgibbon on a quick trip to Van Buren, Arkansas, which I’ve never visited before.
It’s a historic city celebrated for its remarkably preserved 19th-century architecture and deep roots in American frontier history. A fun fact I learned on this trip was, they hauled in truckloads of dirt to cover the asphalt of the Main Street to shoot a historic Western film Broken Trail, transforming the downtown area into an authentic Old West backdrop. Here's a little study I did from a photo I took that day, no dirt.
Anyway, Sean was dropping off copies of his graphic novel, What Follows is True: Crescent Hotel, along with his gorgeous watercolor originals for his upcoming show at the Arts on Main. The book is a true work of art and a fascinating, historically accurate account that chronicles the rise and fall of Norman Baker, a former vaudeville magician and radio host who convinced patients he could cure cancer without surgery. He used the hotel to house victims, who were subjected to fraudulent treatments and whose deaths were covered up. The “shadowy and dreamy” artwork is fully traditionally painted and evokes a mysterious noir feel, mirroring this creepy chapter in the history of this building.
By the way, this Crescent Hotel in Eureka Springs, Arkansas is reportedly haunted! Last year I did another live wedding painting of two beautiful souls, Jordan and Obed. It was a costumed wedding and it was so much fun! Sadly, I didn’t encounter any ghosts. I’m painting another wedding there in two weeks, so fingers crossed. :)
I love spontaneous trips like that but what really lit me up were the serendipitous moments: the conversations, the strange connections, and unexpected insights. I live for these kinds of experiences. That’s what these spontaneous “wanderings” do — they open you to people and experiences you would have never encountered otherwise. They make you WONDER! Interestingly, while the words wander and wonder have different meaning, they are kind of related: one is moving, and the other, imagining aimlessly.
The Evolutionary Theory of the “Wandering” Brain
The trip reminded me of an earlier conversation I had with another friend, who also identifies as “neurodivergent”. She said something that stuck with me: “I love these types of impromptu trips!” I couldn’t agree more — and after coming across an article by Columbia University’s Department of Psychiatry, titled “Evolution and ADHD”, something finally clicked.
The article highlighted a few emerging scientific theories, proposing that the traits often associated with ADHD — spontaneity, hyper-responsiveness to new stimuli, non-linear thinking — may have developed as adaptive evolutionary advantages in ancient nomadic and foraging cultures:
This inherent inclination towards exploration would have propelled individuals to uncover vital resources such as food and shelter, essential for the survival and prosperity of their communities. The impulsivity and quick adaptability seen in those with ADHD, often viewed as drawbacks in modern structured settings, could have enabled rapid decision-making and immediate action in environments where such responsiveness was crucial for evading predators or capitalizing on fleeting opportunities. Furthermore, the ability to shift focus swiftly would have been advantageous in managing the varied and immediate demands of a nomadic lifestyle, enhancing the efficiency of resource utilization and environmental navigation.
It also suggested that many modern psychological disorders like ADHD stem from a mismatch with our modern environment. I could very much relate to that.
The struggle to focus on mundane tasks, especially things that don’t creatively inspire me, is very real. While I never had a proper clinical diagnosis, in recent years I’ve discovered some stark parallels in my brain’s ability to maintain focus, the constant struggle against distractions, and core ADHD tendencies. All those things often surfaced in traditional school and rigid work environments, but I always excelled where creativity and innovation were prioritized and out-of-the-box thinking was encouraged.
Harnessing My Superpowers
Once I reframed my story (more on that in the next piece), including my ADHD tendencies, rather than being a flaw to fix, I began to see it as a superpower to harness.
For so long, our increasingly pathologizing society has labeled this kind of neural wiring as a disorder. Something to manage. Something to control with medication. I used to envy the focus and the follow-through of some close friends who could power through with robot-like discipline, seemingly reaching financial success more easily — but as one of those very close friends candidly put it to me years ago: “It’s all mostly luck,” whether one wants to admit it or not.
The ego is a trickster that likes to inflate itself by conveniently overlooking the unfathomable amount of random external and internal factors that constitute one’s privilege and good fortune.
Even meritocracy is just another story — one created by people who ascended the economic ladder apparently through solely individual effort, with no help whatsoever. And yes, grit and hard work deserve their own merit and respect. But by that logic, those same people must also believe they learned to walk, talk, and think entirely on their own — without parental care, teachers, access to science based quality medical care, or the cultural and educational systems that shaped them. But I digress.
I’ve come to understand that this — my sensitivity, my responsiveness, my attunement to detail and emotion — isn’t a deficit. It’s a different kind of intelligence. A different kind of superpower. And in the right context, with the right intention, it can be a gift. That’s probably why I never felt drawn to dulling it down with pharmaceuticals. Maybe I just needed to channel it instead.
The more I surrendered in my adult years, the more I became drawn to other unapologetically authentic people. It’s also why I’ve found such resonance in painting wedding portraits live. In those moments, surrounded by love, beauty, and meaning, I’m fully present and fully alive. I don’t need to force focus — it emerges naturally. The environment becomes the spark for the energy to be transmuted through the brush and recorded in paint.
It explained why I never cared for over-blending or the photographic precision of hyper-realism. People with that gift are insanely talented, but most of them are essentially functioning as human printers. To me, it doesn’t express the soul and the spirit — which is why I view Impressionism as the perfect metaphor for the zest of life. To an untrained eye it may appear merely superficial, amateur, or self-indulgent. In reality, the ability to economically transmute expressive energy through brush into an illusion of form, while simultaneously capturing the very essence of something — that’s consummate mastery that takes years to cultivate.
Trips like the one I had last summer can interrupt our default networks and take us outside of ourselves. As Rick Steves put it on the NYT’s The Interview:
You got to say “yes” to serendipity… you got to put yourself in a situation where you stumble onto serendipity.
I love seeing the Earth from thousands of miles up through an airplane window, standing in complete awe at the vastness and grandeur of nature when exploring National Parks with my wife, or exploring new cities and cultures. I love wondering aimlessly! Besides slowing down time and making me more present, for me, spontaneous moments are real soul food. Going off the beaten path. Taking the scenic route. Discovering something new. Breaking routine. Being in awe. Sharing experiences with people. Feeling connected to all that is. It’s not just refreshing — it’s essential. It’s how I recharge and fuel my creativity.
These types of experiences remind me to trust the flow. To follow the pull of curiosity and wonder. To surrender and step in to serendipity. It always leads to something wonder-full.
Citations: Sultan Lab for Mental Health Informatics. “Evolution and ADHD.” Columbia University Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, www.columbiapsychiatry.org/research/research-areas/child-and-adolescent-psychiatry/sultan-lab-mental-health-informatics/research-areas/evolutionary-psychiatry/evolution-and-adhd. Accessed 4 Apr. 2026.
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