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Finding Inspiration :
Maybe it is easier for me; as a photographer, I see beauty in shapes and angles, and light. I am also fortunate to have such a vivid imagination and find inspiration in the simplest of forms.
the grain of wood
in animals
a map
a picture
a cup of tea
Yes. A cup of tea.
I can take something like a cup of tea and suddenly imagine myself in a log cabin with the fire roaring and the snow falling outside, suddenly I feel very inspired and warm. If you slow down long enough, you can see beauty and inspiration in anything.
"inspiration: an inspiring or animating action or influence"
Finding inspiration is one of the most important aspects in life. When life gets you down and you are stuck in a position you despise- you must seek inspiration. To find inspiration, is to find freedom from those things. It is the light at the end of the tunnel. A release. It is being able to breath again.
"If you have inspiration, you have dreams, you have ambitions, you are motivated. Inspiration can and will, lead to great things."
So how do you get inspired? For me, it is finding beauty in the simplest of things. It is appreciating and being thankful for little spurts of happiness that glide past us on a daily basis. Someone saying "good morning" to you on the street, or opening the door for you at your local coffee shop. Seeing a dog marching down the street wagging his little tail. Drinking that cup of coffee. In todays society, we move so fast through our daily routines, we are on autopilot. We might be doing the daily commute and arrive at our destination, suddenly it comes over us "how did I get here?" If your life becomes so much of a schedule, a rigid routine and you don't stop to think outside of it, you will not find inspiration. You have to engage with what is happening, literally say to yourself "wake up! Open your eyes"! And you will see inspiration everywhere. Actually taste that cup of coffee, breath in that fresh air, really taste it and feel it. See that dog marching down the street, how happy he is, and just smile. Take it all in.
"A burst of energy is upon you and suddenly you can and you shall do the things you dream about."
Once you are inspired, you are unstoppable. Ideas will bounce around and spill out of you. This is when you must write them down or record yourself talking about them. If I go for a walk and I get inspired by the scenery or the smell of the damp wood in the air, I stop, I find somewhere to sit and I look out, I soak it all in. Sometimes I might take a notebook with me on these walks. Ideas come to you when you are inspired. I write. And I write. It could be about something, it could be about nothing. But it is mine, my ideas, my own. Who knows what possibilities could be born out of a few simple sentences.
Aberdeenshire, Scotland. One of my favourite walks when I am at home in Scotland.
If, for some reason I can't get outside for that inspirational walk. I read, or I turn to something like Pinterest or Twitter. I read articles about inspiring people, I look at photographs of inspiring things. I ask myself questions everyday, and I answer them. I make a conscious effort everyday to feel inspired.
How do you find Inspiration?