I didn’t realize that Thanksgiving, then Christmas, then the New Year would lead to such chaos in life.  I got away from writing and have just gotten back to a place where I think that I will be able to write daily.  With that said, I am starting over.  Welcome to Day 1!

Prompt: What was the last thing you read, heard, or saw that inspired you?

Inspiration comes from many places.  Choosing one thing to write about is somewhat difficult for me.  If you’ve never had a conversation with me (and you should count yourself lucky if you haven’t), you don’t know that I can be a bit scatter-brained.  My brain moves so much faster than my mouth and once the thought is gone, if I don’t blurt it out, it might be lost forever.  I give the appearance of someone who’s just waiting to say her part in the conversation and is not paying attention, but that  couldn’t be farther from the truth.   Why am I telling you this?

Inspiration can come from a conversation, ideas being tossed around; opinions, images, sounds, memories.  It’s all there for you to use, you just have to figure out where.   Music is the same way.  It may sound happy and upbeat, but the words can be hard and full of darkness (21 Pilots anyone?) Heck, how much music do you listen to that is wordless? It evokes such emotion.  Movies that have no background music are such weird things, because you don’t know how to react to what you are seeing.  There’s no feeling of impending doom, or that the “big moment” is coming up.  It’s amazing how music leads you to what you need.  Have you ever listened to foreign language music?  It’s the same way.  You may not have a clue what the lyrics are saying, but the tone, beat,  and drive of the music is what leads you to the feelings that you have.

But what about the things that you see that impact you?  Seeing a piece of abstract art that you get lost in.  Seeing an amazing sculpture that pulls you in, holding something made that is handmade that captures your heart, mind and soul.  Does it matter if it’s a cake or chocolate sculpture?  Does it matter that it’s hanging on a wall in a gallery or that your child made it and it’s on your refrigerator?  Many (many) years ago when I was a junior in high school, in my drama class we had a conversation about what “art” was.  I don’t remember much of the conversation, but I do recall that our class was at odds with each other trying to define something that, to me at least, is undefinable.   Later in my life, when I was taking a ceramics class at my local community college, we had to write a paper about an art collector Fred Marer from the 50’s and the modern, activist artist Ai WeiWei.  The paper was if we thought that the collector would collect Ai WeiWei’s art based on his collection of Peter Voulkos and other groundbreaking ceramic artist of the time.  Ultimately, I didn’t answer the question that he posed.  I answered it this way (and I’m not quoting myself, but this is my belief):  Art is subjective.  What I like, you may not and that’s ok.  Not everyone likes chocolate cake, but do you force them to eat it and agree with you that it’s the best ever?  No.  What I think makes Van Gogh so amazing, you may think that same thing makes his overrated.  Does that make either of us wrong? No.  I think that’s what makes us more human.

Let’s not forget the written word.  Can something that someone writes inspire you?  Heck yes!  How many times have you heard a speech that moves you to tears?  Watched a movie that makes you weep like a child?  It all begins with a written word.  How many blogs do you follow?  Words are all around us and they make more of an impact on our lives daily.  Heck, why do you think that so many people go to therapy, because of words.  Words, words, words.  Let me ask you this; do you have a favourite quote that you find yourself going back to?  I do.  Honestly, I have 4 quotes that I use on a pretty regular basis.  It all began with the written word.  How many times have you re-read a certain book?

So, what is the last thing that inspired me?  After all of this, I will have to say it’s having a “perfect day”.  Good music, beautiful weather, reading what I want with my family around me, that’s what inspires me daily.

What inspires you?