Sometimes inspiration comes on like the flu; suddenly and seemingly from nowhere…you are overtaken by something and at first you don’t know quite what it is and then it hits you…whack and it’s there and it seems like it will never leave and then quietly it all dissipates into the thin air and you are left spent but happy.
Other times inspiration needs to be hunted down, beaten over the head with a club and dragged by its hair back to your cave where you can wear it down…but it seems to want to escape but then on rare occasions usually during the time of the full moon it decides it likes you and stays awhile…but just like anything; inspiration, it comes, it goes, like ebbs and flows.
Inspiration…where is it when you need it?…and where can I get some?
I admit it; I’m in a rut. I have a case of the blahs and I don’t care who knows it. It’s not like it’s the end of the world. (that was last year) It’s not so bad, really.
There is an art to being in a rut…a rut I think is an essential part of the life experience…being in a rut is kind of like purgatory, your neither here or there and it doesn’t feel very good at the time but it does provide an enlightening view…
Appreciation can be heightened by the deprivation of inspiration and being in a rut can serve as a springboard to the new and the untried wonderful possibilities that are out there just waiting for us.
At least I hope so…
Perhaps it’s the rain…it could be the lack of time or sleep? It could just be me….but really that doesn’t matter I have a date with a springboard.
Perhaps it’s my impatience with myself, knowing I probably won’t live forever…I cannot wait around for the tide to turn.
What I’m trying to say is that this is one of the times I’m planning getting me a club and hunting down some of that inspiration.
So where does one look for this elusive inspiration? OR
Does the act of looking for inspiration cause it to disappear?
My stay in cubicleland is getting to me…the three gray walls and I and a computer and a phone…this is not the stuff that dreams are made of.
It feels like feisty and fun SBI is hiding somewhere in the recesses of my mind probably drinking a Margarita and having a smashing time while boring old Nancy has taken control of the wheel…Yuck!
See how serious this is?!
Lately as I am tapping away at my little white laptop the words come but in drip drops, no flood, certainly no passion or fire…I write away and after about 400 or 500 words I just sort of fizzle out and get to the point in the post where I am supposed to be getting to the point but I find by the time I get there, I have none; no point that is.
The unpublished fragments, in various stages of completion sit in the drafts section, there are more of them than I thought..they all lack the same thing; Inspiration and a point and there’s 32 of them. 32? really?
Perhaps I should go root around in there and see what I can come up with…wish me luck…and while I’m going through my old post bits like old socks in the sock drawer could you do me a favor?
Could you hand me a slice of inspiration or tell me where you got yours? You wear it well my friends and I’m at a loss.
What or who inspires you? What fills you full of creative energies and puts forth new and exciting ideas in your mind? Is it a sight? An action? A person? A feeling? Does music inspire you? Or love?
Let me know and we can compare notes…
~SBI
Related articles
- rut of a lifetime (taigenbullen.wordpress.com)
- Stuck in a rut? (sexpertguru.wordpress.com)
- finding inspiration (burnettsboards.com)
- Be different, be you. (stridingthroughlife.wordpress.com)
Life Is Color 
This was such a fabulous post about inspiration, thanks for sharing 😊
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I love the kitties! I was going to remark on this earlier…and then drama at work so couldn’t. As to inspiration, music, literature, those I love (friends who are present and even those who are out of touch still do inspire me), and sometimes just pausing and looking at life go on around me. Life in all of its oddities can be stranger than fiction.
And Nature, Nature helps…and animals. I swear they are having conversations we just don’t hear and wouldn’t that be interesting to decode?
Mainly though, for me it is loved ones and music. Hoping to read more over the summer and work on the main project so that will be nice. We never stop learning, nor should we. To stop learning is to become stagnant and then I would feel like the horse in “The Neverending Story” and become trapped in depression and mud.
On a brighter note, have a great Memorial Day weekend, Strawberryindigo! Sunflowers, gardens, Nature and all 🙂
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Hey Niaseryn:
Yes, nature is so inspirational. I love the idea about the animal conversations–that would be funny. You have inspired me today, thanks for that! 😀
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I’ve always gotten writing inspiration when I was washing my hair! Go figure…maybe it’s the water streaming down on my head, clearing out the dull energy. Also, I compose a lot in my head when I am walking. I will see something beautiful, that makes me remember something, and my brain starts walking a story. With luck I can get the story snatches down on paper before they disappear into the busy-ness of the day, and come back to them.
A wise writing teacher told me to put my internal editor away while I am writing. When writing, just write. Edit when you are finished writing. My guess is that your internal editor is passing judgement on your drafts before your internal writer is finished writing them. So, set a timer for five minutes and write without stopping. Try doing it longhand. Write without stopping, even if you spend five minutes writing “I don’t know what to write.” Don’t think about it being a blog post, or is it any good. Just write. The physical motions of writing can often break through these stuck places. SBI and Nancy both have wonderful words inside waiting to come out!
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Hey Janet,
I get ideas in the shower, I think the running water helps. Walking certainly helps and I should do more of that. I think you have something with that internal editor, mine is working overtime. I have been too judgemental and over careful.
I am worried about how certain ideas I convey will be taken.
I will try what you have suggested. Sounds like good solid advice and wise. Thanks for that. I appreciate all the help you give, you are a one-in–million smart kind of with it friend, thanks for that too.
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Haha totally agree about that moody inspiration 🙂 I usually get mine in the most inappropriate hours, when cleaning the house for example, or out buying groceries 🙂 But most often when i already laid my head on a pillow to sleep 🙂 That’s why i always have a notebook and a pan with me, or most of the times just end up writing on anything that is at hand )))
Adorable kitty pics by the way! 😉 Huge cats fan myself ^-^
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Hello Sofia: I too have found inspiration at the oddest times. you are smart to keep a notebook handy…I am always losing my pen, oh well such is life…at least we have our cats…or they have us…haha. 😉
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I got frustrated not knowing where I am going with my writing and healing…so I decided to let go some more and not try so hard…I stopped blogging for a little bit. It has been a couple days and it is uncomfortable at times. Sometimes I frantically check my email for some kind of clue.. and then sometimes I feel like I am doing what I need to be doing and I am thankful for what comes.
Just let go and see what you do naturally- That’s what I keep getting for myself. I am a little more comfortable with silence these days- and not knowing where I am going.
There seems to be a lot here. What’s right there? That’s another one I used to get as an answer a lot. I look at what is happening right where I am at. Sometimes it is a clue for me. Sometimes it is the feel of it.
I even did a random search on my own blog for a clue.
A few people have suggested to me to open a page in a book. I have done that.
This was helpful with my frustration. Thanks,
Laurie
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Wishing you tons of inspiration…
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Life is but a passing vapor. Do not dwell in worrying about things you cannot control. Let go and focus on what matters.
Inspiration is very spontaneous with me. It is a wild fire of intense inner reflection. I have learned to never force it but clear a space in my mind so it may flourish. My metal art is my outlet of creativity. The sound of an electric grinder on steel, the smell of burning metal. and the amazing transformation of dull metal with brightly colored paint.
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First, let me say I love the cats playing chess. If that isn’t inspired I don’t know what is.
But seriously. Inspiration can’t find us unless we are in a place we can work. That, for me, primarily means in my studio. I get up every day and go in the studio whether I feel like it or not, and 99 times out of 100, by the time my paint is out, and I’ve made a few desultory strokes, I can get in the groove and sometimes even brilliance shows up.
But it’s been 25 years since I’ve had a day job, and I know how that can drain you. Sometimes you need to go sideways before you can move forward. Get a sketchbook. draw while you are having coffee even if you think you can’t draw, because you are a writer and someone may have told you you can’t be multiple things.
During these last 4 years of crappy economy and slow painting sales, I too have felt uninspired. I started doing cartoons to cheer myself up, and before I knew it I was writing, drawing cartoons, working on multiple projects, all of which feed the creative beast.
Lynda Barry wrote a really great book just a couple years ago, which includes a section about how she teaches workshops on writing and cartooning. Try writing with a pencil. just get your hand moving. Describe the room, describe a room from your childhood, what’s in front of you, what’s behind you, what’s out the window.
When I started drawing panda cartoons, I just would start by drawing their ears, and often by the time I got to their paws I had an idea of what the cartoon was about. The more I drew, the more ideas started coming to me.
Sorry, I didn’t mean to go on so long, but the feeling of stuckness hits us all, and I wanted to help.
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Personally I found it inspiring that you put this post together in spite of feeling like you were missing some inspiration…. it doesn’t always have to have angels singing in harmony. 😀
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Thanks Gunta: You are wise, thanks for the support friend. 🙂
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I find in siting the easiest way out of a rut is to dramatize a moment; take a simpe moment and make it into a short scene, adding as much detail and dialogue as you can. A chanc meeting n a grocery store, peering in on a neighbor etc. rely less n trying to express a thought an idea, than on description.
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I’m no expert, but I’ve found a lot of inspiration when I found something worth fighting for. That is not really the right terminology, since I’m passionate about peace. When I saw the need for peace in MY world, I became inspired. Hope that helps. I really liked this post, by the way, so maybe your drought is over. {{{hugs}}} Kozo
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Hey Kozo, Thanks for the advice: finding a cause to be passionate about..you certainly have and what a worthy one thanks for that. The floodgates will been opening soon…thanks for stopping by {{{HUGS}}}}
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I think inspiration is something that comes when you’re least expecting it. And you must have been inspired at least a bit to use such cute photos with your post! If you ever find out a magic formula for inspiration you could become very rich… 😉 I’d say I’m inspired most at the moment by all the other bloggers out there who have also struggled through the long winter and come out smiling. You have inspired me too, with your cheerful humour and fun photos. A big thanks for that Nancy. Hugs!
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Hello Cathy. So nice to see you! If I ever find that magic formula for insatnt inspiration, I’m going to bottle it up and send the first one to you decorated with a colorful bow and then I’ll sell the rest for top dollar. 😉
It is interesting what you say about others…I think so too and I’m glad I have inspired you because you sure have inspired me too. Your posts open up a window to happiness and sunshine. You are like the really fantastic neighbor I never had who lives among the trees and flowers and makes the most wonderful food, especially baked goods. But I am glad we can be friends here. You are a nice and caring person and I love your wit….and I’m glad you are around.
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😀 Thanks for all your kind words Nancy. Have an inspired weekend!
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I love all those funny cat pictures you put into your post! You can get inspiration from anything, or any actions which happen around you. Open your eyes and look with an open heart….. you’ll find it. It will just come, not when you are looking …
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I have found that to be true also Ute, the cats themselves did inspire me a bit, I mean they were cats….haha. Thanks for your words of advice, I appreciate that. 🙂
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Good luck Nancy 🙂
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Thanks Paula!
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A person mostly
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Hello Petrossa: People certainly are inspiring; certain people more so.
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