Sometimes I wonder what we should write about in our next blog.
A lot of the time we have things scheduled – whether it be sharing our latest find in products that we love, the food that works for us, finding the latest dog-friendly restaurant, and a lot of about our travels. In the past year, a lot of the topics were curbed during the pandemic lockdown – no dining out, no travelling, no meeting up with anyone. What was there to write about?
We saw things differently during the lockdown. Our minds shifted its usual focus. And we found inspiration unexpectedly in simple, every day things. We kept blogging.
We wrote about the things we did while at home – from dog tricks to Mum making us treats.
And also about our thoughts and feelings during the pandemic – a different spin from the media. At times it was a bit more philosophical.
And we did staycations in London, staycations in the country side and staycations by the seaside.
Even when Mum said she wanted to stop blogging for awhile and focus on projects during the extended lockdown, somehow something would trigger a thought. Sometimes it was a flower …
Sometimes it was a book …
And we would be back to tap-tap-tapping the keyboard.
May’s comment: A guest blog – “When we are inspired, magic happens.” Ashley Brown
Ah inspiration, the golden elixir. It is what plants flowers in the mind that grow into something beautiful. And one of the frustrations aspiring writers most frequently tap into google is; how do I find it? I know this very well as I am one of them. I once even resorted to the oxford dictionary. Inspiration is vital for the creative, one moment of magic can inspire a book, shift blocks and create the movement we crave. The rub is, how do we find it? Well like all great discoveries, it starts with curiosity.
I first stumbled upon the magic aged twelve, stepping of a train at London Victoria as my dad’s hand guided me through the human traffic, I was in awe of the place. From the whimsical underground, toy black cabs and endless patisseries. London opened my eyes to a world of possibility. Is that not the power of inspiration? That golden feeling that rushes into everything else we do. The inspired mind see’s wonder in the mundane, it is open and ready to receive ideas and solutions. It can find joy in even are least favourite endeavours. Yep, even the laundry. So where does it hide?
Since that day in London, I have learned that inspiration can be found anywhere. You see the strangest thing happened. I returned back home to the country, and that feeling came with me. I had this fresh energy to explore possibilities. I started to pay more attention to what made the feeling stronger, and let go of the things that didn’t. You see that is inspiration. When something outside of ourselves connects to the magic inside of us. The ‘something’ can be people, places, colours, flowers or for one eccentric lawyer I know, blaring jazz every afternoon.
Lockdown challenged me like many of us, to find new ways to catch the feeling. This was a great learning curve for me as a writer and eternal optimist. I realised that inspiration doesn’t require you to be busy. The magic can be found simply observing the world with a still mind. Inspiration is as individual as our heart desires. Remember what you seek is seeking you, stay curious. When we turn down the noise in our heads and listen carefully to our heart, we will always find it.
Ashley Brown is a writer and writing coach. She helped me finish my manuscript during the first lockdown. She writes a monthly blog and this is an excerpt from last month’s blog – Inspiration: Where art thou?
