How do you find inspiration?
I love being inspired. That moment where a truth becomes evident, or a solution presents itself out of nowhere. It’s like the clouds of confusion part, and a ray of light illuminates my soul with understanding.
I wish I could say that inspiration arrives on schedule, but it’s never on a convenient timeline. My poor wife has become used to the way I will stop during a conversation, get a far-away look and immediately write something down before the idea fades.
During dinner, driving on the freeway, in the movie theater…there’s no schedule, there’s no rhyme or reason, it just happens.
And although I cannot force the moment, I have found that there are things I can do to prepare myself for those moments. I share these today in the hope that it might help you find a greater level of guidance and inspiration in your own life.
First, I try to seek understanding of others before I am sure that they understand me. This forces me to question more than I assert. Questions are essential for seeking truth, and in questions I often find inspiration in answers.
Second, trying to understand others places on me a burden of humility. Humility is essential for seeking true inspiration, because humility allows me to accept possibilities which at first may seem to threaten my sense of self, but on deeper understanding may be the way forwards.
Humility removes my ego from the situation which makes me more receptive to external ideas, rather than trying to force my own solutions, which are tainted by my flaws and weaknesses.
Third, I try to find quiet places. We have a place that we go to, away in the mountains, that has become my spiritual wilderness. It’s a drive of about 2-3 hours, through a winding forest of pine and stone that breaks out into a wide verdant valley, and majestic mountains. There are also large lakes, and a sense of the eternal. This seems to quiet some of the noise in my soul, and allow me to be open to possibilities not easily evident to me.
Fourth, I try to find wisdom in the books that I read, and the content I consume in media. It leads me down some fairly strangle rabbit holes, from Indian spiritual teachers through quantum physics, psychology research papers through biographies of notable people. The constant search for wisdom is the only way I know to overcome my own weaknesses, and my only hope for the peace that I find so elusive.
Lastly, I try to maintain an attitude of service and reverence for others. When I am seeking answers for others I find that inspiration flows easier. My role as a healer is to reduce the suffering in the world around me. When serving is my guidepost, I find a clearer path to the inspiration I seek, and a greater sense of purpose in my everyday interactions.
May you find your own way to inspiration, and may you share what you learn, that we might all be edified and empowered.
We are the solution to the suffering, but we can only achieve that together.
-- Dr. Alan Barnes
@maddrbmusings