"Nature's Song" Collage
“Whatever inspiration is, it’s born from a continuous I don’t know.” Wistawa Szymborska
Life is full of challenges, setbacks, and unexpected events, but when we try and find solutions and continue to push forward, we also find inspiration. It comes in many forms and from many different places. What is important is that what we are listening to, seeing, or experiencing has meaning for us. Things that stir something within us, make us want to move forward.
Inspiration is all around us and can appear at a moment's notice. It is when we feel a deep-rooted passion for something. For me it is nature. I can walk out the front door in the morning and see a shredded piece of palm bark laying on the ground and be moved by the lines in the fiber, the texture I feel, and the layers that are evident.
Inspiration propels us from apathy to possibility and transforms the way we perceive our own capabilities. It gives us both the means and the motivation to rise above, be creative, grow closer to our goals, and achieve enhanced well-being.
When we are inspired, we produce our best work. It helps us formulate ideas and map out strategies to bring these ideas to life. It also awakens us to new possibilities by allowing us to go from our ordinary experiences and limitations to something more. Propelling us from apathy to possibility and transforming the way we perceive our own capabilities. It pokes and prods and invigorates us to chart a new course. Inspiration is our energy!
Anyone who's ever tried to force inspiration knows that it's easier said than done. It’s something that happens. It comes from being present, enjoying the moment and living life to its fullest, not just riding it out. Being present is what brings passion to our lives and allows inspiration to enter our lives.
Inspiration goes hand in hand with creativity. To be an artist in the largest sense is to be fully awake to the totality of life as we encounter it, porous to it and absorbent of it, moved by it and moved to translate that inner quickening into something we feel deeply about.
We are all inspired by different things and in different ways. As individuals, we each have a unique way of creating that makes us happy and fulfilled. There are no rules in terms of style. No genre is better than another. We have a much healthier relationship with our art if we do what we love.
For me being out in nature, in the natural elements, is an amazing source of artistic inspiration. Taking notice of all the fascinating shapes, colors and textures of the elements and the topography around me, is a fabulous source inspiration. For others it could be people watching, enjoying a sunset or sunrise, feeling the rhythm of a musical composition, reading, a chance encounter with a person, politics, a spiritual feeling, or just a grouping of colors seen together. Sometimes all these little things are easily missed when we are not present in the moment.
We must be present in our life to get inspired by what we are passionate about. Stay safe. Carolyn