by Rene Schwiesow

Created on: February 16, 2009

Inspiration. Webster defines inspiration as the act of drawing in, specifically to draw in air. When we become inspired it is, indeed, as if we have breathed in fresh air. The cloudiness clears from our minds and we are far better able to connect with the creative spirit that lives within us. We need air in order to live; we need inspiration in order to live well.

But when we seem to be stuck on the hamster wheel or we feel mired in the mud, how are we supposed to find inspiration? Having someone simply tell you that inspiration is found in the "little things," or in nature, may not remotely inspire you to give up the doldrums. In other words, inspiration begins at home, within your self. To fully consider this as an acceptable answer to the question of where to find inspiration, you may need to consider a shift in perception. My 13 year old will sometimes lament that fact that he is bored. Despite my listing of the numerous activities that surround him, despite my expounding the virtues of a warm and sunny day that would be fabulous for biking or playing out of doors, he does not pick up the thread of inspiration. At those times we talk about the shift that needs to take place within. We talk about the need to move, to breathe deeply and the need for gratitude. Sometimes it takes a great act of willpower to get on your feet and notice the world around you, but once you are standing and moving, your lungs expand with air and inspiration can begin take flight from the inside out! There is a lot to be said for the well-known song from the Mary Poppins Soundtrack, "Let's go fly a kite."

Of course there are just going to be days that we feel uninspired. If those happen on the rare occasion, cut yourself some slack. At the click of a button or the turn of a head inspiration may come flooding back.

As a poet I can be heard discussing the fact that anything can contain a poem. When an individual suffers from writer's block, they feel uninspired. We have grown to believe that inspiration must emanate from something great, something lofty, when it may come from something as mundane as a paper clip. What? You scoff at that idea. And yet, somewhere there is an artist inspired to create a paper-clip sculpture. All it takes is allowing yourself to see the possibilities that exist in all things.

Absolutely a flower carries with it the aesthetic of beauty. Without question the birth of a baby can give us a profound sense of the inspiration for living. Yet do not discount the inspiration that you may find in simply seeing the ordinary in an extraordinary way. Recently I listened to poet read a poem about a hot dog. Yes, inspiration and hope can even be found in that first bite of a hot dog, the piercing of the casing, the burst of flavor that explodes through the juice that hits the roof of your mouth, then falls to your tongue. And so we take it in. And so we are inspired to feed, to be nourished by the ordinary, the everyday. As long as we view even the smallest details of living as, indeed, extraordinary.

Paper-clip sculture: http://fineartamerica.com/featured/paperclip-tree-cl ose-up-sara-allison.html.

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