Inspiration?
Inspiration, what is it, where do you find it, is it fleeting?
Should I be looking for inspiration, is that why I am putting forth the effort that I am?
If I find it, will I remember where it is?
Why did that inspire me?
These are some of the questions that bounce around in my head and make me wonder about things.
I find inspiration in various things, movies, books, weather, places, songs, you name it, and its probably inspired me. I dont always know that I am going to get inspired though, and thats when I start to wonder about the whole idea of inspiration. I have watched a movie, and after it is done and I reflect upon what I just saw, I will feel an energy come over me, an energy that longs to get out. I dont always find the proper way to release that energy, and it makes me wonder if there is a finite amount of inspiration that a person can realize in one lifetime.
Kind of a scary thought when you sit and ponder it. Will I run out of inspiration if I dont find the proper way to utilize it? Ask yourself that on a lonely night a couple dozen times, and you might find yourself sitting in front of a computer typing a blog entry. Wait, what?
Thats the mindset I will wander into sometimes, but I usually find my way out. Oftentimes I will ask myself if I am doing enough, am I putting my ducks in a row and working towards the goal I had in mind, and often I dont think I am. Times like that, it seems like someone will feel that from me, and they will point out what I am doing, and how it does exactly what I am hoping to do. That inspires me to keep going. The route isnt always smooth, it isnt always scenic like we had hoped, but we keep traveling it because it is taking us where we are supposed to be going.
Can you actively look for inspiration, or would that make it harder to find? I think that might be like forcing a situation that has to happen on its own, and that can be disastrous. I dont want to sound like I dont think you cant find inspiration if you look for it, but I think it comes to us when we need it, and in its own way. I think that the reason I dont realize I am going to find something inspiring, is because I had to go into the situation or experience with a blank slate. I will say that I think there are environments that have a lot of inspiration in them, and that we can willingly walk into these environments. Museums, art galleries, theaters, these are places where inspiration can live and where we can seek it, but we wont always find it.
An amazing source of inspiration is other people, and the interactions we have with them. I cannot count how many times I have been talking to a family member, friend, classmate, coworker, or stranger and the conversation takes on a life of its own, and from that conversation springs ideas and inspiration for thoughts to bolster ideas we already had. Sometimes it is in the midst of a brainstorming session, and sometimes it just happens because it had to at that exact moment. We dont know this is going to happen, but it does, and it is beautiful.
I dont think that inspiration itself is fleeting, rather I think our hold on it is. I dont think there is a finite amount of inspiration for every person on this planet, but I think some people ignore, or dont realize what it is. I think inspiration is a wonderful thing, but I think it can confuse as often as it inspires.
This is a big beautiful world we live in, and there are so many places for inspiration to live and thrive in. People are creating amazing things every day, things that were born from their inspiration and that in turn might inspire someone else. That is an idea that I hold onto when I think about what I am doing, and if it might be enough.
A teacher I had in grade school ran into me when I was in the midst of grad school, she asked me what I was up to these days. I felt a tinge of embarrassment because I knew I was about to tell her how I was working on my MA in anthropology, but that I was taking much longer to write and defend my thesis than what I had hoped to when I started the whole process. Sure I had reasons, work being the biggest one, but I knew a lot of it was me dragging my heels as I moved forward. She didnt scoff, she didnt take on the ways of a hard nosed teacher, rather she told me how she always knew I would do something like that, and that she knew I would do it on my own time table. I smiled, and when I reflected on that, I knew she was right, and that I had been doing things that way my whole life.
I have things I want to do with my life, I have ideas of how to pursue them, and I will. Inspiration will find me and the right amount of time will pass for me to accomplish what I set out to do. I have known that on some level ever since I was a little guy, and I will know it all the way until I am an old guy.
Inspiration sneaks up on you and you dont always know what to do with it, but dont let that worry you.
Sit down in front of a computer and let it move your fingers across a keyboard.
Park yourself in front of a canvas and let it move your paintbrush across the surface.
Grab your camera and go out in the world, let it tell you when to push the button that captures the image you are drawn to.
Park yourself under a tree and listen to the squirrels play on its branches, let inspiration broaden the smile on your face.
Inspiration will find a way to move through you, enjoy it when it does.
Inspiration, what is it, where do you find it, is it fleeting?
Should I be looking for inspiration, is that why I am putting forth the effort that I am?
If I find it, will I remember where it is?
Why did that inspire me?
These are some of the questions that bounce around in my head and make me wonder about things.
I find inspiration in various things, movies, books, weather, places, songs, you name it, and its probably inspired me. I dont always know that I am going to get inspired though, and thats when I start to wonder about the whole idea of inspiration. I have watched a movie, and after it is done and I reflect upon what I just saw, I will feel an energy come over me, an energy that longs to get out. I dont always find the proper way to release that energy, and it makes me wonder if there is a finite amount of inspiration that a person can realize in one lifetime.
Kind of a scary thought when you sit and ponder it. Will I run out of inspiration if I dont find the proper way to utilize it? Ask yourself that on a lonely night a couple dozen times, and you might find yourself sitting in front of a computer typing a blog entry. Wait, what?
Thats the mindset I will wander into sometimes, but I usually find my way out. Oftentimes I will ask myself if I am doing enough, am I putting my ducks in a row and working towards the goal I had in mind, and often I dont think I am. Times like that, it seems like someone will feel that from me, and they will point out what I am doing, and how it does exactly what I am hoping to do. That inspires me to keep going. The route isnt always smooth, it isnt always scenic like we had hoped, but we keep traveling it because it is taking us where we are supposed to be going.
Can you actively look for inspiration, or would that make it harder to find? I think that might be like forcing a situation that has to happen on its own, and that can be disastrous. I dont want to sound like I dont think you cant find inspiration if you look for it, but I think it comes to us when we need it, and in its own way. I think that the reason I dont realize I am going to find something inspiring, is because I had to go into the situation or experience with a blank slate. I will say that I think there are environments that have a lot of inspiration in them, and that we can willingly walk into these environments. Museums, art galleries, theaters, these are places where inspiration can live and where we can seek it, but we wont always find it.
An amazing source of inspiration is other people, and the interactions we have with them. I cannot count how many times I have been talking to a family member, friend, classmate, coworker, or stranger and the conversation takes on a life of its own, and from that conversation springs ideas and inspiration for thoughts to bolster ideas we already had. Sometimes it is in the midst of a brainstorming session, and sometimes it just happens because it had to at that exact moment. We dont know this is going to happen, but it does, and it is beautiful.
I dont think that inspiration itself is fleeting, rather I think our hold on it is. I dont think there is a finite amount of inspiration for every person on this planet, but I think some people ignore, or dont realize what it is. I think inspiration is a wonderful thing, but I think it can confuse as often as it inspires.
This is a big beautiful world we live in, and there are so many places for inspiration to live and thrive in. People are creating amazing things every day, things that were born from their inspiration and that in turn might inspire someone else. That is an idea that I hold onto when I think about what I am doing, and if it might be enough.
A teacher I had in grade school ran into me when I was in the midst of grad school, she asked me what I was up to these days. I felt a tinge of embarrassment because I knew I was about to tell her how I was working on my MA in anthropology, but that I was taking much longer to write and defend my thesis than what I had hoped to when I started the whole process. Sure I had reasons, work being the biggest one, but I knew a lot of it was me dragging my heels as I moved forward. She didnt scoff, she didnt take on the ways of a hard nosed teacher, rather she told me how she always knew I would do something like that, and that she knew I would do it on my own time table. I smiled, and when I reflected on that, I knew she was right, and that I had been doing things that way my whole life.
I have things I want to do with my life, I have ideas of how to pursue them, and I will. Inspiration will find me and the right amount of time will pass for me to accomplish what I set out to do. I have known that on some level ever since I was a little guy, and I will know it all the way until I am an old guy.
Inspiration sneaks up on you and you dont always know what to do with it, but dont let that worry you.
Sit down in front of a computer and let it move your fingers across a keyboard.
Park yourself in front of a canvas and let it move your paintbrush across the surface.
Grab your camera and go out in the world, let it tell you when to push the button that captures the image you are drawn to.
Park yourself under a tree and listen to the squirrels play on its branches, let inspiration broaden the smile on your face.
Inspiration will find a way to move through you, enjoy it when it does.
I'm now inspired