Where do creative sparks come from? I’d say they come from everywhere and everything, if we’re as aware as we can be, given the daily, relentless distractions.
I need moments of pause to connect head and heart but slowing down to do so is often the first thing I’ll toss overboard and disregard when life gets choppy. Push forward, head down, my brain says, but the instinct is counterproductive. I’m learning that insight, for me, is tied to breath work and if I take beat or two, I’m able to make connections in new ways, see the inspiration around me. Every day, ever present.
I love the quote from Picasso because it reminds me that effort matters, but not to the exclusion of awareness. Get to work – whatever that is – and in the productivity of doing, motivation and encouragement will ride along if I’m not pushing, exclusively, for productivity and completion.
I’m married to a man with an artist’s heart but his artistry is in the realm of engineering and problem solving. He creates – in his mind first. I often catch him staring, zombie-like, into space, lately into our backyard. He’s not daydreaming – he’s working – as his beautiful brain shifts into gear to tackle a conundrum.
A recent ‘dilemma du jour’ came yesterday related to re-engineering wonky solar panels on our deck. Hubs was busy, busy in his thinking chair as he used that imperceptible muscle between his ears. Some days I imagine sparks flying out of his head or think of him as my very own “Sherlock” conjuring his ‘mind palace’ (which I believe were made-for-tv moments borrowed from the Greek poet Simonides of Ceos). Ancient techniques, ways to organize information for maximum utility. Sherlock wasn’t the first. But I digress…
Don’t mess with a good thing. Hubster’s practice works. His deep dives result in resolutions, innovative ideas and I think he’s an example of what Picasso meant. Get to it…start the journey because creativity and inspiration will likely join you – but not if you’re waiting around for a thunderbolt of insight or a magic moment. Move. Go. Think. Feel. Ponder. Do.
Vicki 😊
P.S. Is there more to this story? Of course! Check out my post on Heart of the Matter. I’m forever wrestling with “how to” write about family…how to find the inspiration and how to stay the course. Join me here…and there…to tell me what you think, what works for you. Xo!
Victoria Ponders 
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