I’m in a bit of a thoughtful mood today and this question popped up – where do we get our inspiration from?

Inspiration to write, create, make, compose and so on. I know talent has a part to play too but without inspiration, I feel talent alone isn’t enough. It is more than motivation although thats obviously an essential ingredient too.

I think one of the biggest differences is that both talent and motivation are things that come from us, internally….but inspiration? Thats the spark from elsewhere, that external flicker that starts everything moving. Maybe its a piece of music, a movie, a bird, a sunset, a piece of poetry, clouds in the sky or even a blog post!

Is there a link between what type of thing inspires us and what is produced? For example, does music inspire poetry, birds inspire painting and so on? I know I rely heavily on music and have certain pieces I listen to depending on what I want to work on. I also love watching the birds on the feeder in the garden, from the kitchen window.

A slightly weirder place where I become inspired is the bathroom, specifically when I’m cleaning it! I don’t know why, but ideas just pop into my head and I run with them. Its amazing what a good scrub of the bath can produce.

Thats probably where I was when I started wondering about how we get inspired in the first place.

So, dear reader, what about you? Where do you get your inspiration from?