Finding Inspiration

Once again, my friend Nancy has chided me about this blog. "Yes!" she complained to me more than once recently, "I have read your blog lately (that’s the tagline on my email signature), but you haven’t posted anything new for me to read." And she is right. I have been remiss. 

It has been said that writing is 1 percent inspiration and the rest is perspiration. That can be said for much of what we do, not just writing but retailing, gardening, cooking, etc. But often without the inspiration, the perspiration cannot happen. So where do we find inspiration? Where do we go, what do we do?

Inspiration is really all around us, but only if we take — no, make — the time and make an effort to pay attention and notice. We are surrounded by so much distraction — visual, aural, electronic — that often gets in the way of noticing the things that spark ideas. Sometimes we need to turn off and tune out, to clear our heads and allow the creativity to flow. 

Get up. Go out. Take a walk. Some of my most creative time comes when I am walking. I let my head clear as I just concentrate (and I use that term "concentrate" extremely loosely) on my walk. Random thoughts may run through my brain and many times, a potential solution to a problem that I have been struggling with will occur to me. 

And if you can’t get out to take a walk, just get up and walk arounnd. Do something else to refocus. You might might be surprised to find that new ideas flow wehn you are not so focused of the problem.