Knowledge Leads To Inspiration

Image courtesy pixabay.com

I’ve recently been in a bit of a rut…husband and I have been doing a lot of house cleaning and purging and the 2 rooms I do my work in – my altar/meditation room and my craft room/office – are in a constant state of flux and disarray. Things are slowly but surely coming together. (I am in the middle of a craft room overhaul and it’s pretty close to being done.)

I’ve been holding off working on the crafts I want to do because the space has been in such chaos, and I want to get the rearranging and organizing done before I start crafting again. I also really want to dive into writing – I’m not much of a creative writer, but I’ve always loved writing down my thoughts and opinions. That’s one of the reasons I decided to start a blog.

But a combination of working full-time, living with mental illness and chronic pain, and all of the purging of “stuff,” has left me feeling stuck and overwhelmed. Additionally, with new endeavors, I tend to get too deep into “research mode” to the detriment of actually taking action.

In the middle of all of this, I’ve been trying to get myself motivated and inspired to create, so I have a goal to work towards. If I can get my spaces in order, I can create. If I can get myself inspired and excited to create, then that will motivate me to get the cleaning and organizing done.

That was my thought process, anyway…

I was watching a video on writing, and they mentioned inspiration and the importance of finding it. And I thought - maybe I need to soak up some knowledge. History, astronomy, psychology, philosophy, biology, physics, mythology, there is so much to learn! And there is also visual inspiration from art, fashion, nature, design, and decor.

Knowledge leads to inspiration. When you have more stored in your memory bank, you have more information from which to draw upon when you are creating. When you have learned more, experienced more, read more, seen more, done more, thought more, you will be inspired to create more.

It’s also very important that you keep learning throughout your life. It’s healthy for your brain – when you learn something, your brain makes new connections between neurons which is important for neuroplasticity and brain function. If you don’t give your brain some exercise, those unused connections basically die off. Here are a few articles that explain this much better than I can:

Learning rewires the brain

Neuroscientists reveal how the brain can enhance connections

Neuroplasticity: Learning Physically Changes the Brain

How to get inspiration

 

I came up with a few ideas:

• What interests you? Google it. Find relevant blogs, articles, videos, books, forums, groups, etc. I keep a list on my phone of things to look up when I think of something and can’t look it up right then.
• Journaling. The exercise of putting your thoughts on paper will help get your brain going.
• Use sites like Stumbleupon, Pinterest, Instagram, or tumblr to get ideas.
• Get out into nature; go for a walk or to the park. Find nature hikes in your area. You can get inspiration both from your surroundings and the meditative act of walking.
• Watch documentaries about things you are interested in. History, science, culture, etc.
• Talk to people. Join a local or online hobby group or meetup to find like-minded people.
• Look at art. Any kind, style, subject matter.
• Practice your thing. Whatever your chosen medium is for expressing yourself, just do it.
• Look at what other people are making/doing. It’s OK to get inspiration from others, just make sure you are not outright copying or plagiarizing.
• Meditate.
• Listen to music.
• Exercise – good for your body and brain! https://www.theguardian.com/education/2016/jun/18/how-physical-exercise-makes-your-brain-work-better

So get out there, read some books, watch some documentaries, look at some art and get inspired! I’ll be taking that journey right along with you.

Until next time,

Aranea <3