A Million Reasons and a Million Ways

You're not going to feel inspired every single day. You won't. Believe me, if you had already found the secret to rendering on demand inspiration (I'm not talking about cable TV) you would have probably already written a New York Times bestselling manifesto and made millions of dollars on frusterated writers and artists. You would have found the immediate elixir for thousands of years worth of aggravating writer's block. People from around the world would hail you as the greatest sage in the history of the creative arts. You would be the Dalai Lamia of creativity. 

But you aren't and no one is- at least not right away.

Because most us who enjoy pursuing our creative passions also work a 9-5 that's a little more mundane, but that's totally honrable and it's ok (just as long as you don't completely hate what you do. If you hate your job or your life you should stop reading this right now and revaluate your decisions because this post isn't for you. I'm talking to people who are mildly satisfied with their current station in life... Any way, back to the point.)

The daily grind isn't always that directly inviting (i.e washing dishes, brushing your teeth, going to work and crunching numbers, budgeting money and paying bills and slaying the occasional dragon...). That's just life and snapping your fingers and expecting effortless inspiration is naive and slightly sad. You're wasting a wealth of potential. 

And I'll tell you why. 

Inspiration is hard work, not magic. Now, it might feel like magic sometimes and that's wonderful but it isn't periwinkle pixie dust that fairies come by to sprinkle you with that mystically blesses your brain with fresh wonder and revelation. If they existed I would have already tried to pin them down and force confessions from their lips. No, inspiration is a lot more tangible than that. It isn't some ephemeral, fleeting, temperamental occurrence. It is so much more closer to you than you think. I promise. It's sitting right beside you (Or in front of you, whichever illustration suits you best). 

Inspiration is rain on a windshield and the clammer of dishes in a sink and the chorus of grinders in a coffee shop. It's a freckle and an eyelash. It's a strange parting glance from a stranger in the aisle of the grocery store that bothers you before you go to sleep at night. It's the morning light in the quiet still. It's all around and it is your job as an artist is to actively search for it and it's really not that hard when it's all around you. That's your part and a lot of people who want to create something often quit too early after realizing this hard truth. They freak out when they realize inspiration and great leads dont arrive in the mystic experiences they imagined. I think people have this misconception about creating something- they get sucked into that image of some tortured artist in tattered clothing pacing over a type writer drinking whiskey from a bottle, murmuring to himself and writing cryptic symbols on the wall. (Well, actually that might be true).

But it's a lot less romantic than people make it out to be. And that's good because that's a lot more accessible than being a suicidal junkie that's writing the next great American novel.  

Inspiration comes to those who are diligent and to those who are persistent- not idealists who wait for it to magically appear. It's hard work but then again, it's really not because all you are required to do is just live and notice your life. Observe and dissect laughter and leaves. Study everything. Feel everything. Ride the wave. You will be inspired, I gauruntee it. Because God created everything in the world to reflect and point back to Him. And that's the beauty of it- He's infinite. Limitless.

We are looking for a million reasons to praise His name and we are searching for His glory in all of creation in a thousand different ways.

So get off the couch and close your latop (or your phone). Notice the details and notice the clouds. When's the last time you intently stared at the clouds, I mean really stared? You should. I'm not saying they talk back, but if you are listening carefully, their Creator just might.

And what would He say?

So go for a walk. Run. I don't care, make something, may anything. Make a cake. Do 500 jumping jacks and go sit in the park and talk to someone. Listen to music while finger painting. I assure you, Inspiration will flutter on your shoulder like a butterfly, and it will never leave as long as you keep inviting it to come.