The comfort of knowing. Grabbing your inspiration

Out of the blue, these moments strike, flutter in the tummy and jellify the knees. As children, these moments can be frequent. Do you recall the moment when, after hours of car sickness, you see the sea and its horizon straight against the skyline? And then, the excitement of the van on the beach. In ice-cream yellow and blue, it is set at a crazy angle, and seems about to topple. The other children appear like genies. You watch them paddle and you see them kneel. You hear their laughter drifting across the water; and you see their sandcastles challenging. Mothers watch on towels that claim while the gulls squawk, and the sea laps, swells and waits. The world seems to wait.

Such a moment happened today. No, not in the mountains, the forests or at the sea but during a walk along the river Main in Frankfurt. Was it the warm autumnal sunshine and the falling leaves? Was it the light or was it my face, cold with the promise of winter? Whatever it was, I was uncluttered, if just for a moment, unwalled for a minute and freed to disorder the world, to ignore those voices that overrate us. I was free to connect. 

Connect with what? Endless possibilities, I would say. You are at the beginning of life again and wondering "What if?" These are moments of inspiration, moments of openness that drive us to create. Wouldn't it be nice to say that all you need to do in order to connect is to meditate or pray or focus. Most of us have to wait until inspiration comes knocking. When it does, don't put it to one side and come back for it later because it has probably gone away. Grab it and grab it while you can.

Moral of the story? If you like writing, take a notebook and a pencil wherever you go.   

 

 

Comments

[Christopher Anthony Goddard]

Now you mention it, I had just such an experience when we were all crossing a bridge in Frankfurt, and you asked if I was all right... said I looked as if I had seen a ghost... which in a sense was true, as I had been struck by the sudden realisation that my estranged stepson would soon be coming to stay with you... as, weeks later, I learned that that was indeed the case