Wednesday, January 23, 2013

The Fire In Your Belly!


A couple of months ago I ran out of gas at a stoplight during the noon rush hour.   I was busy, you know, and while I noticed that the tank was getting low, I kind of ignored it -- I had a lot on my mind! 

So, at this stoplight, my car shuddered and died, and I was completely shocked and surprised and thinking the worst – then I looked at the gas gauge.  Ohhh no.
Every time the light turned green, people behind me were honking, and I kept waving them around. A police officer came up to my window and when I told him, “um, I think I’m out of gas,” he said, “you’ve GOT to be kidding me.”
Cars need gas to run.   A fire needs fuel – something to burn – to keep on burning. For me, inspiration works this way too. If your Car of Inspiration is sitting dead at a stoplight,  what are you gonna do? I don’t know what fills your tank, but here are some suggestions:
  • Spend time in nature.  It reaches you at the soul level and reopens that dialogue you have with your innermost self. That’s where the good stuff comes from.
  • Read a book.  Reading really gets my brain pistons firing. Sometimes I do this in place of working on writing. I don’t like to force it that much. If I don’t have anything happening in the writing department, I give my brain a little vacation.
  • Go out and experience the creativity of others: go to a gallery, museum, or go out and hear live music. Relax. Soak it in. it will put the fire back in your belly.
  • Grab inspiration as it flies by – it might not stop or come around again. Write down or record those little lines, words, etc that come into your head at any given moment. Store them up like a little treasure trove that is all yours. Then go back to it when you need some inspiration. You’ll be surprised at some of the things you came up with.  You will inspire yourself!
  • Take on a side project that is creative, but not directly related to your main goal: co-write, collaborate, assist, support someone else’s dream. It keeps your creativity flowing until you’re ready to jump back into it again.
  • Honor your creative side. Think of yourself as a creative soul, and give this part of yourself its due. This is who you are! This is the real you – the most important you. So give yourself permission to be that person.