Seeking Inspiration
A segment of the weekly newsletter is a weekly theme and this blog post is an enhancement to that section. Each weekly theme is an invitation and encouragement meant to help the reader better connect to themselves. Please note that the selected themes can be reflected upon at any time and are not limited to the week the themes are shared and published.
Theme: Seeking Inspiration
This week’s theme is all about Seeking Inspiration and exploring the ways in which you find inspiration. “Inspiration” here means “the process of being mentally stimulated to do or feel something, especially to do something creative” (Oxford Languages).
We are creative beings with incredible amounts of potential. Sometimes inspiration comes quickly and sometimes inspiration takes its sweet time in finding us. There are, however, ways to let inspiration know that we, too, are searching for it. For some, inspiration comes from sitting in quiet contemplation. For others, inspiration comes from doing. Still, for others, inspiration comes from stepping outside of one’s comfort zone and trying something new.
This week, the invitation is to get curious about your relationship with inspiration and to lean into those things, places, people, or experiences that boost inspiration for your creative side. The focus is on how you are inspired, not on how you inspire those around you.
Practices for Reflection
Start by taking a five deep breaths to ground yourself. Then, reflect on any or all of the following questions:
What does “inspiration” mean to you?
When was the last time you felt inspired?
What or who inspires you?
What or who inspires your creative side?
What practices, if any, do you turn to when you want/need inspiration?
Personal Reflection
That sudden moment of joy, happiness, or clarity? These are moments of inspiration for me. Oftentimes, it feels like inspiration comes out of nowhere. The truth that I believe in is that because I am constantly processing information (my body receives and processes information more often and more quickly than my mind does), information has been slowly gathering without my awareness. It isn’t until I am quiet and present enough to put the pieces of together in a way that feels like inspiration just struck. Once I sit with inspiration, I realize that the lightbulb moment was actually comprised of a series of smaller flickering moments.
As I said, inspiration hits me when I am quiet and present, making meditation a go-to practice, especially during those times when I am searching for inspiration. I also frequently feel inspiration strike while on the run; the rhythmic nature of foot-falling and breathing is enough to slow and sometimes shut down the thinking brain long enough for the thoughts to wander in curious and creative ways. Meditating and running are hard practices, but I enjoy them so much because they give me an opportunity to listen to and follow the flow of my thoughts without the filters of “should” and right/wrong. I relish the moments when inspiration comes quickly and easily and I try to show myself patience and grace in the moments of blankness while I wait for inspiration to arrive. In those moments when inspiration is hard to find and meditating and running aren’t giving me fast enough results, I’ve learned the importance of doing something new that puts me outside of my comfort zone. There’s nothing like experiencing something new to boost the process of thinking something new! If that doesn’t work, then I’ve learned that time can’t be rushed and life must be lived. Do I want to live my life waiting for something to happen or do I want to live my life experiencing all that is there for me to experience? I want to live and I want to live in a way that is served by the idea that what I am seeking is also seeking me. It’s almost like hide-and-seek when it comes to inspiration and, in a way, that’s what makes inspiration all the more exciting when it strikes.
