Floating On The Winds Of Inspiration

24 posted on March 24, 2009

POSTED IN: Blog Posts

Inspiration is a fickle creature. I think of like a timid cat hiding under the bed that has to be coaxed out. Most of the time it won’t come to you if you force it. It has to be gently persuaded to come out and let you hold it. And then there are times where you’re just sitting there doing something else entirely and it jumps right up in your lap.

Finding inspiration and staying inspired is a challenge for creative people. For me, most of the time I’ve considered particularly inspirational have usually involved coffee.

Back when I worked at the church I used to thoroughly enjoy the times I got to meet people for conversation at a coffee house. It was a time for me to stop focusing on the small day-to-day problems I was facing and dream big.

We would inevitably talk about new books that challenged us, conferences we had been to or big ideas we had for what God was doing in the church. It was a time to cut the cords and float away in the hot-air balloon of our imagination to wherever the conversational winds would take us.

Many times after the person I was meeting had left I would just sit there at the table with the sound of the coffee shop providing a backdrop for my thoughts as I reflected on our conversation. Many people and coffee shops played the muse in my never-ending quest for inspiration and fresh ideas.

What are the things you do, places you go or people you talk to that help you “cut the cords” holding you down and allow your imagination to float free?

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 24th, 2009 at 8:21 am and is filed under Blog Posts. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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March 24, 2009

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1 Juli Jarvis said:

I’m a musician so music always comes into play for me — oops, didn’t mean that as a pun, but it works pretty well! I guess that proved my point! (I got a little creative there for a moment, in case you didn’t notice…)

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March 24, 2009

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2 Theresa Woodkirk said:

There are two things necessary for me! I have to be near the water. The sound relaxes me and allows me to quiet myself and reflect. Guess it’s a good thing I live in Sackets Harbor, NY on Lake Ontario. The other coffee, I stop at our local coffee shop, (Chrissy Beanz) purchase my favorite latte (and a cookie!) then head for the waters edge! Join me sometime you will never be the same.
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March 24, 2009

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3 Curtis Honeycutt said:

Honestly? Really looking forward to meeting with you over coffee tomorrow.

Other idea catalysts for me include reading books (usually not reading blogs…interesting), time spent awake in bed when I should be sleeping, and getting away from things (i.e., going on a trip, taking a day off, going for a walk, talking to someone who is like-minded but removed from a situation, etc.).

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March 24, 2009

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4 Curtis Honeycutt said:

P.S., I’m using Calvin and Hobbes as inspiration tomorrow as well…I’ll add Calvin and Hobbes to my list.

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March 25, 2009

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5 Molly said:

I have not found one thing that works perfectly for me. Sometimes sitting in a meeting listening to people talk about their challenges sparks something, other times at my crafty table I get totally lost.

I would like to say when I am alone near a babbling brook with my Moleskeine reflecting on life, but that just does NOT happen for me.

(but now I want to pay more attention to how my noodle actually works creatively, thanks!)

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March 25, 2009

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6 Jim said:

I am not a writer, musician or artist… at least I don’t think so…

But I did have to comment plainly for your use of Calvin & Hobbs. My all time favorite comic strip. I get a daily Calvin & Hobbs in my email and forward it to my sister. It often spurs a conversation.

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