The Dictionary says that inspiration is ‘the process of being mentally stimulated to do or feel something, especially to do something creative’ or ‘a sudden brilliant or timely idea’. If you Google inspiration, you'll find tons of articles and blogs that are deemed “inspirational” but there isn't a whole lot on the topic of inspiration itself. Even now, I'm finding it a difficult thing to write about. It’s an undeniably broad topic and that’s a problem in itself. If you think about it, everything we do in our lives is guided by some form of inspiration or another. Some spark triggered in our minds that spurs us to act. Books, Movies, TV Shows, they are all created from some inspired writer/director who one day got a “sudden brilliant or timely idea”. So what is inspiration? Is it something physical; some action or person that this inspired individual sees that triggers an idea in their head. Is it the trigger itself, some part of our imagination that forms the idea? Or is it beyond that, to some otherworldly force or power in our universe. Maybe we’re delving in to deeply here. It’s interesting to ponder though. Why do we get inspired and why are there such huge variations in people’s inspirations. Why does one thing mean so much more to one person than another? Experiences, emotions, knowledge, creativity, imagination, paranoia? It’s a mysterious part of the world. Then again, it’s whether you choose to see inspiration as something important in our lives or just another word in our head.
Something else that sort of triggered the idea of inspiration for me was the fact I just watched the movie Lincoln the other day. I really enjoyed it and sort of developed a major moral appreciation for Abraham Lincoln. He was a man that I would call inspiring. Just his whole personality and take on life was completely admirable, to me anyway. Inspiration, his ability to inspire and be inspired lead to a great change in history. It showed me that there is something incredible and powerful about inspiration and how much influence it has on the world.
It's seen in the poetry we study as well. Poets are suggested to be these unique individuals brimming with creative spirit having an ability to view the world in ways we can’t even imagine. They see things differently and can find inspiration and meaning in the most mundane objects and normal aspects of life. What makes them able to view the world this way and how is it they can find inspiration so freely? This ability allows them to form worlds and create amazing and cryptic pieces of poetry which then go on to inspire others who read them. And what’s more, people can find different, unique meanings and inspiration from the same piece of writing which may be completely different to the poet’s original spark. So is inspiration transferable, and if so, can it warp, transform and take the shape of whatever a person chooses to see? Everyone views the world differently, it doesn't mean they are wrong. Assuming so, It is clear that inspiration is very closely connected to the personal. What a person chooses to see and learn from is entirely up to themselves, their experiences and their own imagination. What we do and see comes out of who we believe we are.
So I'm assuming your brain is hurting just as much as mine is right now. I figure it’s a good thing though. There isn't really a moral to the story of this blog, I just thought it would be interesting to delve a little deeply into something we all take for granted and really see how it works. Yet it may the case that we need to leave it to the poets of the world. I really don't know.
These are two quotes that I think sum the whole thing up pretty nicely.
“I dream my painting and I paint my dream” – Vincent van Gogh
“Don’t tell me the sky’s the limit when there are footprints on the moon” – Paul Brandt
A.F.