You can suddenly be driving along and be blind sided by such an amazing and creative idea, that you have to pull over and write it all down so that you do not forget it. At times like this you wonder… Where does inspiration really come from?
Some people are born with talents that make being creative look so easy and others struggle to find the creative flow. Creativity comes in all forms, and the truth is… is that every individual ever born has the ability to be a Picasso, Einstein, or Richard Branson. Creativity is a choice and a personal power that you can grant yourself when you stop thinking, “I am just not a creative person.” Luckily, there are many different things that can trigger your creativity and inspiration, however the first step is making the decision to being open to being inspired.
Don’t Discount Your Feelings
When you close off your feelings, you close off the powers that fuel your creative actions and ideas. When you do this, your inspiration and creativity can become fogged over. Even though some of your feelings might be quite painful, painful emotions are still part of your body’s natural GPS that give you information on how to act on specific situations. This pain can help to fuel your inspiration as well. When you ignore your feelings, even if they are painful or uneasy for you to handle, it is as if you are limiting yourself to playing only a few notes on a guitar. You will never be able to play the entire song (your life).
You need to take all of your feelings in as they come and allow the time for them to process. When you take the time to really dissect your feelings as they come up, you will start to be very aware of what makes you feel specific things. Every emotion that you are able to experience is a gift. Experience these gifts. You don’t have to understand them all, just appreciate them. When you are not masking your emotions anymore and simply allowing all of your feelings to come up as they do, you can live a more peaceful, creative and grateful life. You will become conscious in avoiding the people, places and situations that bother you and become aware of why you are making that choice.
When you can express yourself without judgment, your life will truly blossom. What better way to move through your feelings than to create and express yourself. All feelings and memories, no matter how they make you feel, add to the development of your creativity.
Your Natural Surroundings
Weather is the most talked about subject on this planet. It’s something that none of us can control and yet it affects every single one of us. “Nice weather we are having, isn’t it?” “Burr, it’s far too cold out today to do anything.” Most people don’t realize it, but a big part of their overall mood is affected by the weather, even before they look outside. Everyone has their good days and bad days, creative spurts and creative slumps. But because our mood affects our inspiration and enthusiasm, it’s important that you understand that just like the different seasons that make us feel inspired or happy, so does the daily forecast.
The powerful energy that surrounds us daily, commonly known as ‘the weather’ is a direct connection to how we can personally feel throughout the day. Your mood can change drastically hour to hour, depending on if the sun is shining or the snow is falling. Your reaction to this energy (weather) is different for everyone. Personally I have always found that I feel good on a nice rainy day. I feel cozy, inspired and creative. The sound of rain as you wake up in the morning makes me so happy. I know that the ground is getting a good drink of water and the great outdoors is cleansing itself. Windy days however, make me anxious. I know that it’s all that swirling wind energy whipping through trees and howling through tight spaces. For some reason I always have trouble concentrating on windy days. Funny how that works hey?
I have always wanted to know how other people react to different weather energy. Was it only me that loved the rain and felt like creating something new? I started asking people and looking into the reasons why some individuals might feel certain ways during specific weather. The majority of the people that I spoke to said that sunny days made them want to experience life outdoors. They felt a sense of excitement and hopefulness. Most of these same people told me that a rainy day made them want to stay indoors and carry out a creative or thoughtful activity, such as playing guitar, reading, or making art. They wanted to do something where they felt as though they were allowing themselves time to reflect and express themselves. Gloomy, cloudy, or rainy days made these people think more clearly and allowed them to become more focused. A sunny day, on the other hand, stimulated their mind. This is why a lot of people tend to want to be outdoors on a sunny day.
I have always loved a rainy day, no matter if the outside vibe is causing me to feel creative or not. I always have this feeling that the world is moving just a little bit slower than normal. It feels as though I am not only more inspired and thoughtful in those moments, but that I have the ability to catch up with the rest of the world (with whatever project I am working on). I kind of feel the same way about Sundays too. In my mind everyone else is taking the day off.
Creativity Lives in the Present Moment
There is creativity everywhere you go, 365 days a year, so make strong connections with the natural world around you. You must be open to pulling from all inspirations using whatever you have available in each moment. Embrace each day, for your experiences make or break you. Be open to the magic of each falling leaf and the budding of each rose. When you are open to being inspired by nature, you can become a greater person than you’ve ever imagined.
Keep Creative!
Originally published at medium.com