Inspiration

I am easily inspired. I get inspired to become a runner, to be a good cook or learn new songs on the guitar. Now it's writing at the forefront. But with all of the aforementioned things, though there are ebbs and flows in my pursuit, they are all recurring.

Instead of waiting for the mood and inspiration to strike, I'm trying to write a little every day. At the moment, the scraps in my journal look like a hodge-podge garbage pile (really), but I've gotta work out the lactic acid, so to speak...so this is me feeling sore for a while. I'm also trying to keep the inspiration alive yet even-keeled (unlike the night inspiration struck while I was lying in my bed not sleeping, when I was dragged out of bed by creative force, nose-dived into a bin of old textbooks searching for my Imaginitive Writing book that I kept from Di Francis' class, and soaked it in like a pancake drinking syrup). In giving a few minutes each day to writing, I also am trying to devote a little time to reading material that will give me a boost of motivation. Today it was a snipet of Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott.


"Writing taught my father to pay attention; my father in turn taught other people to pay attention and then to write down their thoughts and observations. One of the gifts of being a writer is that it gives you an excuse to do things, to go places and explore. Another is that writing motivates you to look closely at life, at life as it lurches by and tramps around."


As a person who works with people most of the time and works independently some of the time, I know how to interact with people and to interact alone with my thoughts. As I was walking home this evening, I was realizing how little I observe throughout a day. So here's to a new challenge which will hopefully lead to fodder for the journal and eventually an inspired thought: paying attention. And here's to staying in the "flow"...

I will try to post some observations in the coming weeks... :)  What are some things you are observing around you?