Meditation: On Inspiration

We all want to be inspired.

Some of us even want to inspire.

So constant is our search that we’ve abbreviated the word in order not to waste any unnecessary time or energy. Inspo is apparently everywhere. Why are we still seeking? What exactly is it we think we’re seeking?

Indulge me in a review of the definition and etymology:

inspire verb ​ /ɪnˈspaɪər/ I. Fill (someone) with the urge or ability to do or feel something. II. Create (a feeling, especially a positive one) in a person. mid-14c., enspiren, "to fill (the mind, heart, etc., with grace, etc.);" also "to prompt or induce (someone to do something)," from Old French enspirer (13c.), from Latin inspirare "blow into, breathe upon," figuratively "inspire, excite, inflame," from in-"in" + spirare "to breathe"

Something just feels right about inspiration finding its roots in breathing. An act so essential and primal. The vital energy that sustains life. Without it - breathing or inspiration - we are nothing. The desperation of our search makes more sense now, perhaps. Maybe we’re not searching in the right way.

Inspirational quotes aren’t anything new. We’ve all seen the blu-tacked posters with cats hanging from washing lines, “hang in there” printed in 90’s font across the bottom. They are more prevalent since the advent of Instagram. Sometimes they are exactly what we need to see. Who knew a black and white image of a lion with an aggressive do-or-die mantra from @TrillionaireMindset could be the difference in whether I do that pile of dirty dishes or not?!

Sometimes we aren’t looking for it or can’t find it. Then someone we know shares something online. The unsolicited motivation that makes you cringe and leaves you murmuring spiteful comments about how Dillon in accounts should leave the dog-eat-dog slogans and focus on fixing his dog-like breath. We celebrate inspirational figures and envy the inspired.

Inspiration is not a wholesale item. It can’t be batch-cooked. And it can’t be re-gifted. Every individual has their individual inspiration and, even then, it remains elusive and fluid. A sundown stroll might be the spark one week but the next week it turns out to be an obscure article tucked in the side column of a local newspaper.

At the beginning of the year, I committed to a resolution of carrying a little notebook to record any inspiration or ideas that came to me. It’s the only resolution to which I’ve ever stuck. The notebook might remain unopened for weeks at a time but when the moment comes there’s great satisfaction in knowing the idea won’t disappear into the ether or get buried beneath the to-do lists and endless replays of personal humiliations.

Ultimately, we need to stop the hunt. Get off the horse and let it drink. Rest. Open your eyes and look around. Inspiration is everywhere but we need to be available to it. Like a timid woodland creature, inspiration will come to you when it trusts that your open hand isn’t going to snatch at it as soon as it gets close enough.

There’s a reason it strikes in the shower. It’s not because it’s a vindictive, little imp that knows you can’t write anything down with soapy hands. Inspiration comes in our most relaxed moments.

Keep a notebook beside your bed and allow yourself the first five minutes of each day to invite inspiration. This heavy-lidded, half-wake state where dream and dawn mix like cream in coffee. When nothing is real but everything is true. This moment, where the unfiltered, unfettered fog of genius slides over you and vanishes in the stale bedroom air. Grasp it. Take note of every thought that awakens with you. Remember all you can from the unconsciousness. There lie your sincerest wishes, your deepest longings and your life’s true calling. Learn to listen. There is an ancient voice that talks to you now.