As if inspiration can be considered a science ——- more like… an art.

I have struggled with the idea of inspiration for a really long time. There have been times in my life when I have been inspired beyond measure and times when I have hit bottom and wondered why I couldn’t seem to keep it together, couldn’t move forward, and didn’t want to move forward.

I mean what is inspiration really?

Inspiration – the process of being mentally stimulated to do or feel something, especially to do something creative (according to dictonary.com)

Let’s break this down.

Mentally – in a manner related to the mind

Stimulate – encourage interest or increased activity in

I’ve been mentally stimulated. My mom read to me, taught me, and played games with me as I was growing up. This stimulated my mental abilities. I mean I still have many of the selections from the children’s book subscription she got for me, and I can’t even describe our fun with board games like Sorry and Clue without smiling from ear to ear. This was mental stimulation at its finest, but was I inspired?

I went to school and learned lots of things – reading, writing, math, spelling (you know, the usual). I still don’t know if I would call the learning process in itself inspirational. Maybe it was.

I remember having to do projects in 6th grade math. I don’t remember the exact project at the moment (I mean it was 27 years ago), but I remember the comment that the teacher wrote in her feedback – “And they say girls can’t do math. You just proved them wrong.” I believed in my ability to do math to an even greater extent after receiving those words. That was inspirational.

My mom enrolled me in an arts camp each summer at the Arena Players Youth-Theater in Baltimore. Singing, dancing, acting, speaking, creating. Creating art was inspiring.

I went to an after school program called TWIGS at the Baltimore School for the Arts when I was in middle school. Improvisation and acting were the words of the day everyday in that space. I was inspired.

I attended the Baltimore School for the Arts for high school and became people I never dreamed I’d be: a queen, a widow, a drunk, a New York City floozy, a gang member (who could sing and dance of course), a lost boy, and a king. Inspired doesn’t even begin to describe that experience.

Of course there have been many more instances when I’ve been inspired – hearing amazing speakers, meeting and being around outstanding people, listening to music that lifted my soul and made me shake a tail feather,  reading fantastic quotes, scriptures, stories, and books. Some have made me catch my breath, some have brought me to tears, some have made me laugh hysterically, and some have made me reconsider everything that I’ve done with my life and everything that I could and should be doing. The common thread though – “The art of it all”.

When that definition said “especially to do something creative” it really hit the nail on the head for me. The creative and artistic twists are the things that make things inspiring for me. No real science here; Inspiration is an art.

Now, how in the world can I continue to be inspired? That is the question….

So, what inspires you? Leave a comment and let me know!