The Other Side of Inspiration

I wonder as you get older do your forms or sources of inspiration change?

I realise that our senses and tastes change, differ become more refined or in tune with who we are and what we want, but I’ve been thinking about inspiration today and here’s what I think.

Does inspiration mean motivation? And therefore does motivation come from within or can it be drawn from an outside source, like a lover, a leader, a teacher, a brother or a friend? Or self?

Do we have the capability to find inspiration on our own, or do we need outside influence to draw out what we have within?

A friend wrote on Facebook yesterday, “I’m in search of inspiration”. It made me smile because at the very time, I was researching poetry on the web of the old greats used to write. I was looking for inspiration for my writing, inspired by a modern day film, a love story in fact that made reference to Beethoven’s letters to his beloved… and it made me think that inspiration comes in all forms, a modern day story with an olden day twist! Nice.

What I see is that we mere mortals are inspired by all sorts. I guess it comes down to where you are in your life at the moment in time, right?

Some find inspiration from a lovers kiss, a motivational book on "how to", or another’s victory, motivated to win against a competitor to prove their value and status in their world, for a sense of achievement. Some a sportsman on the field, "SCORE", or a millionaire in play, or as simple as a mate losing his beer gut before you in the biggest loser competition! Or, it can come from the motivation by a night time chat that makes you think about possibilities in life that you’ve never really thought could be a reality because of, well, because of "the just because theory”. Meaning, we do that, “just because”… that’s the way it’s always been.

I think inspiration is an amazing emotion really. It is an opening of thought and recognition of possibility or energy that you’d maybe lost touch with or in some cases, never really afforded yourself before.

Therefore is the other side of inspiration, that it comes from outside of the safe place that we all know and hold tight to, or make excuses to cling on to because it’s the place that we’ve become most comfortable with – so therefore, to differ is outside of the norm and therefore not safe?

Or is inspiration a treat that we allow ourselves to experience as a high, yet we struggle to maintain it, so when it dissipates, we feel low and unbalanced and then wonder why we did “that thing” in the first place - the thing that inspiration possibly took us to?

How many times have you seen a motivational speaker that has inspired you to look outside the box, to think big, to touch high and wide and pursue the dreams and the desires you’ve always wanted…. Then, surged out with gusto and gone after that “thing” only to find in a month, or two, or six, you’ve forgotten what that high was all about and asked yourself, “….how did that person phrase it again?”

I find, that inspiration comes from individuals we meet that touch us, that move us and provoke thought, then the masses take it away from us. Does that make sense?

Now I’ll rephrase that, and tell you the other side – we find inspiration in people and experiences that lift us to a place that we see apart of ourselves in, a part that we’ve always wanted to be, become, or thought we could. For in that person we see an element of our self belief, or the one that our subconscious does rather, and that’s why we are so attracted to and associate that “high” with such experience, engagement or encounter. Then, we stop, and we allow society, culture, or the patterns of our lives to take a stronger hold of our way of life – therefore the high can become unsustainable.

That is, unless, you decide to change you. Or find out who you really are in that moment of inspiration, and motivate yourself to find the tools, discipline or desire to learn more about that “you” that you’ve touch and felt, even only for a moment, or an hour, of day and so on. But you were conscious in that moment.

An old mentor used to say to me, "find someone that inspires you and model yourself on the traits and behaviours of that person and see what you create". I liked that theory, I have used that method for a long time – I now see what others that "I see myself in” do, and I copy that trait but apply my own flare or style, and then it becomes mine!

I find when you’re open to inspiration it comes to you in waves, massive waves, it’s just being brave enough to get the surf board out and ride it baby, not give up after you’ve been dunked, and say, “holy shit that’s way too urgent for me”. Rather, embrace the thrill and new look of it, and don’t ever say, “no way, I can’t do that”. Because I say, "bullshit to that, yes you can, we all can". But it’s all about what you really want.

It might not be a wave you’re after, it might be calm shallow waters, what ever the analogy that works for you – but what ever it is, get in the water, it’s refreshing, it can wake you up, give you shivers right to core, and when all of the masses are getting out, hold on, just wait, your body temperature soon adjusts and you’re swimming, or catching your wave and you don’t even realise it. And it is, honestly, really amazing. But, I am sure you know what I mean. You've touched it before right!

I truly believe, when you seek it, it does come. Whether it is from a call from a friend telling you of a recent triumph, a new baby born, a tale of a heart won, weight lost, steps taken, words spoken, a poem sent, eyes opened, minds made up, balance found, a moment with a lover, or something as simple as a “yes”. All can produce or promote a lift, a smile or an energy in you that you exude outwards, and then what magically happens, as others watch you, is the creation of inspiration begins again.

Think about it.

Cheers,

TBS

P.S - The poem that I found inspiration in yesterday was this, a letter Ludwig Van Beethoven wrote to his Immortal beloved.

Letter 1

Good morning, July 7

My thoughts go out to you, my immortal beloved

I can live only wholly with you or not at all

Be calm my life, my all. Only by calm consideration of our experience can we achieve our purpose to live together

Oh continue to love me, never misjudge the most faithful heart of your beloved.

Ever thine

Ever mine

Ever ours

The other side of Who are you in the Zoo?

I’ve decided that I no longer parade on show in Big Brother, I now live in the zoo! On show for the masses in a wild kingdom of the locked up zoo! I’ve been sitting in chained up in a room where the transformation from the Big Brother to the barnyard or zookeeper took place.

It all started with a group of us coming together to discuss how we would win the affections of a cat and what she’d been up to. The first voice starts and says, “I think the cat sat on the mat”. The next says, “you know what, I actually think the cat was black and wore some stunning pearls and then she sat on the mat”. Then the next says, “no, the cat did a black flip and a double pike and then she say on the mat” and then the deep voice says “folks, come on, she had her pearls on, yes back flipped, she can do that when ever she pleases and you didn’t notice that she twirled her little but off, turned and winked saying, “don’t give me jam tomorrow”, then and only then, she sat on the god damn mat”.

Harrumph, we’re agreed! Yes, yes that’s it. Pat, pat, pat, we’re all happy and the pretty little kitty sat on the mat. Don’t you find, that people in life repeat what others say so they have a voice, or have some resemblance of presence?

One would think that this much attention would have our cat licking her lips, the butter and the jam off her pores, grinning at us like a Cheshire…. but unfortunately, the problem was, no one had seen a cat in days! For there were no cats in sight, just a lot of animals talking about what they wanted the cat to do. (Sounds like a boys golf trip gone wrong and ended up in the Sahara Dessert, rather than Thailand!)

As all the guys were getting excited about how they could frame or choreograph how our little kitty was going to pucker up and curl on up on this glorious matt of ours (as that was pretty much the only thing that they collective agreed on), I started to giggle about my little rhythm, and as most healthy minds do, mine started wondering. Hmm, the cat, sitting on a the mat – hmm, I started looking across the pen; "no, he’s not a cat, no, he wont sit down if he was told to sit on a mat, ah, he might, ah, wait, no, wait, I’m not sitting in a room of cats, I’m sitting in a room with a collection of the animal kingdom!"

Oh wow, this was fun; the sides of my mouth started to curl and for the first time in the cat hunt, I got a little giggle on inside. I’d created my own little game. You’ve heard of bullshit bingo, but that was so March 2004… so it’s time to create a new game, and I shall call this – “Who are you in my Zoo?”

Then just like magic, there they are – all the faces, instantly transformed and all with wonderful characteristics of the beautiful wild. Or tame, or not so as some cases may be. The Raccoon, the Bear Cub, the Silver fox, but actually he’s not a Fox (as in my type of fox) he’s more a Labrador.  Mr Mole; my smile widens and I’m showing a cheeky grin and I bite my lip. This is fun; I’m thinking about “Toad at Toad Hall”, absolutely brilliant book and story as a child.  Then, there is the Horse, the Panda, the Jersey cow, the Hamster, the Joey, the Tarsier, the Goose, the Hippo, the Deer, the Snow Wolf, the Peacock and then there’s me, the Lioness.

The animal kingdom in the zoo, but something was missing. I looked around and we had no lion. There was no ruler of our kingdom, so the animals were wild and unsettled and every one from Pharr Lap, to the Tarsier, to the Hippo and even the Raccoon were having a crack and making noises to bid for the top spot.

Wayhay, move aside bullshit bingo, step right up animals are us!

And even when the voices were raised, there was just a lot of noise – you see it’s pretty tough to get a group silence when there is a chorus of swarks, nays, twits, meeks, burrs, grrrs, or purs all trying to be louder than the other. On the other hand,  if there were an almighty roar of a Lion, you wouldn’t here a peep, I would imagine, only a fart slipped out from the Goose’s anxiety! But, there would unison and a knowing from the kingdom that all will be ok.

In our children’s books we learn that the king of the kingdom is the Lion, in Africa, we are taught that as well, on the stage “The Lion King” tells the tale beautifully – so we are preconditioned that generally in life the strongest, most poised, most powerful man is the lion and the ruler. He is a leader, hiss stride and his presence commands the respect and what comes is a natural assembly of all. It is a birth right, a certainty that garners support so easily through his wise and magnetic ways. The natural balance of the wild in return offers the animals a sense of harmony amongst the kingdom. Everyone knows where they’re supposed to be and the roles they play.

Now, I have been called the Lioness before, and in fact, it was an apt description for my zoo game. There I was, amongst the masses, feeding and making sure they had their daily bread (a fridge stocked with fresh food) and the cubs were doing their duties and the animals were all keeping some form of respect in the kingdom…. all focused on the agenda at hand.   However, it must be said, I was really missing a Lion in this game. (Probably a good thing actually, because I would have probably wanted to jump his bones; after all, that would only be natural remember!)

The role of the Lioness is to sit back and watch and respect the male testosterone and need for the stage.  She is the strength behind the Lion, yet when he’s absent, she plays the role of silent keeper until the masses get out of line and then, and only then, will you hear her roar! In an atmosphere of pheromones and testosterone going wild, she’ll watch and observe until feels it’s needed and absolutely necessary.  No one speaks over the lioness when she has something to say! And in this game, when she roared, the animals were still, just for that moment. ROAH!

The other side of this is - Does every male animal really want to be the proverbial Lion? No I don’t think so. But I do see some animals thinking about it, and wondering what it would be like.  Or,  does the kingdom need to change in the new world?  I couldn’t help but wonder; would the Lion, being a cat himself, know how to actually find the cat and create a space for her to curl up on the mat and purr with happiness?  Or can we win a cat hunt  and have harmony without him?

Next time you get a little distracted, have a look around, you will see that your group all have features of creatures of the wild! Whether or not this seen in a “board-room” or just from “bore-dom” and a slightly “wild” imagination, regardless, trust me, take a different look, I was having a hilarious time and my grin couldn’t hide it!

What animal do you look like?


Cheers,
TBS