What Inspires You?
But here there is no light,
Save what from heaven is with the breezes blown
Through verdurous glooms and winding mossy ways.
- From ‘Ode to a Nightingale’, by John Keats
Something that I loved about studying the romantic poets in high school, and that has evidently stayed with me since, is how they referred to their inspiration from the great poets who came before them. It crops up everywhere - ‘breezes’ or ‘wind’ or ‘air’ as metaphors for divine inspiration, that one could literally breathe in, inspire. What an amazing idea - that you can physically take in to your body a feeling of inspiration, that comes from someone or something else. I know I’m starting off kind of abstractly here, but stay with me.
It seems to me that inspiration, as a concept, is the big picture. It can pop up at any moment, sparked by a person or a place, a piece of art, a hike to the top of a mountain, some delicious food, a scientific discovery, a memory… Inspiration is not any one of these things in and of themselves, but the feeling that each can give us, which is pretty difficult to describe; it is butterflies in your tummy, it’s joy, it’s longing, and hopefulness. Inspiration is unique to each person on earth, and even unique to any particular day for each person. There’s no telling how long it will last, or what will come of it. But how do we capture something so elusive?
I think it starts with a state of curiosity. When we live with a truly open mind, we allow ourselves to experience life in a different way; we become invested in the world, fascinated by what’s going on in it, and this manifests into inspiration. The energy that we put into life, we get back in a series of inspirations, from birth till death. It’s up to us what we do with them, but we have to stay checked in to be able to get to them at all.
One difficulty (of many) of being mostly trapped in our homes for the past 18 months, is that the scope of our lives and lived experiences have been severely limited, and I know many of us felt that lack of engaged interest painfully. Now, as we return to a post-quarantine version of life in whatever form that takes, I find it vitally important that we get back to a world where we can feel inspired. In my view, we need inspiration absolutely and unconditionally. It’s not a motivator - it won’t help us with the daily grind or life’s petty grievances. Like I said, inspiration is the big picture. It’s what we continue to live for, it’s why we care about anything at all.
Thinking about what inspires me, the people I love come top of the list. They inspire me just by being who they are; kind, caring, characterful, and inquisitive people. Unlike anything else, my inspiration from them is the ocean bed of my life - it is always present, vast, but also creates waves. Music, books, paintings, and the American Southwest landscape are intimately powerful to me too. Something to do with the grand meaning of life and beauty. I feel inspired by watching how people cope with disasters, by the ingenuity and resilience of young people, by the bravery of someone who makes a life-changing decision. I even feel inspired by those trashy home D.I.Y. makeover shows!
And what do I do with these inspirations? Well, sometimes they influence my work, propelling me to strive further and push harder. Occasionally they impact my decisions and my life choices. Mostly, they give me an energy boost, a purpose, a raison d'être. And I must emphasise this: my inspirations are usually fleeting. They fall on me, cause a stir, and then wear off. Most of my time is ‘dead time’, just waiting for the next jolt of inspiration to take over again.
But that’s OK with me. I can cope with life’s depressions when I know they’re not forever. The important thing is to stay open, believe in inspiration, and be generous with it. Keats, Wordsworth… all those poets filled their most beautiful work with inspiration from each other, which in turn is inspiring, So now I want to know: what inspires YOU?
Of Interest…
ABBA is releasing a new album??!!! I’m so, so here for that.
Speaking of new releases from old legends, a previously unpublished novel by Simone de Beauvoir is finally making its way into the public world - you can read an extract from it in The Guardian. I’m incredibly excited to get my hands on this.
You know that phrase, “take care of the pence and the pounds will take care of themselves”? I once heard cellist Colin Carr transform it into “take care of the sense and the sounds will take care of themselves”, and I think about this all the time, especially when learning new repertoire.
This NY Times article on ‘Why This Covid Chapter Might Be the Hardest of All’.
Logan’s video about peanut butter and the science of the tongue.
This might be an unpopular opinion, but I think season 7 of Buffy is the best? I started watching the whole franchise in 2020 and am finally getting around to finishing it. I feel that, until now, the show has been somewhat silly and the horror is often comical (although highly enjoyable). But now the evil feels quite real, the storylines are in-depth and every character serves a purpose… I dunno. Don’t come at me.
I recently learned who Mae Reeves was, and the importance and meaning of millinery to African-American women and culture throughout history. Also, I wish the craft of millinery was still as popular as it was 60 years ago…
”You’re not fully dressed unless you wear a hat.”
- Mae ReevesThis article from The Atlantic about a family who tried to make it on their own, and the impossibility of escaping the inevitable. Romantic dreams are never quite what they seem…
If you are looking for a light yet full-bodied and very delicious beer, look no further than the pilsner from Peabody Heights Brewery.
I really enjoyed the sculpture gallery at DC’s National Gallery, particularly Rodin’s rather beautiful ‘Morning’.
