in·spired
/inˈspī(ə)rd/ adjective
- of extraordinary quality, as if arising from some external creative impulse.
- (of air or another substance) that is breathed in.
Inspiration can come from the most unlikely of places. We often hear this. But in my experience, I often know where to look for it. It's in the people I admire, it's in the spaces that give me life, and it's in uncomfortable-growing conversations. I believe being inspired is like breathing in and creativity is our exhale. These two motions give us life and sustain us.
"The ways creative work gets done are always unpredictable, demanding room to roam, refusing schedules and systems. They cannot be reduced to replicable formulas."
I recently discovered this in Rebecca Sonlit's essay, "Woolf's Darkness". It encapsulates the importance of letting creativity breathe and expand into spaces, instead of forcing it along. Creativity and inspiration go hand in hand, and in a world of images, videos and soundbites, we are not short of it, something I am grateful for.
I've been reflecting on inspiration since International Womens Day on March 8th. I feel blessed to know so many women that are trailblazing and allowing their unique creativity to take up space in the world. Each one is doing and offering something a little different that pushes us all to be better. Whether it's revolutionizing education one assessment at a time, another photographer's artistic eye, or a mom holding up multiple kids, a household and a career simultaneously.
There is no shortage of inspiration around us. Maybe we just need eyes that are softened enough to see it. When we're laser-focused on an end result, we narrow the walls around us making the pursuit of 'creativity' a squeeze and press rather than a broadening expanse. Our world needs creativity, and it needs to leave space for inspiration to flourish. That requires the marriage of intentionality and unpredictability.