Inspiration

Inspiration...comes from the Latin word inspirare meaning "to breathe in or upon". Ancient people believed inspiration came from the Gods and therefore the word was used to describe a state of being that came from breathing in or being breathed on by the Gods. It is astounding that one word can encompass both the ethereal and the physical human experiences of spirit and breath.

Someone asked me recently what inspires me? After thinking about it for some time, I have boiled it down to this...the chasm between the human experience of beauty and suffering. Sometimes we endure a whole range of experiences and emotions in a day and even an hour in our fast paced culture. Inner tension is created as it becomes necessary to reconcile experiences such as the joy of a fall family hike with the sorrow of watching my beloved grandmother take her last breath. This process can be uncomfortable for my psyche and ignites a fiery restlessness.

Inspiration is the space inside where these opposites can come together. Like when a wide open sky simultaneously holds both a rain cloud and the sun, a rainbow is born. That rainbow is a painting to a painter, a sculpture to a sculptor, a dance to a dancer, a poem to a poet. In this way, suffering is transformed into tangible proof of the Divine. Such is the way of artists…the feelers and watchers of the world. Proudly, I am one.