“It is only with the heart that one can see rightly…”
― Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince

Do you have days when you feel uninspired? I do, even though I usually have projects going that really inspire me. Still, there are days when none of my ongoing projects inspire me. I don’t feel the energy to take action on any of them. Those days I just feel tired, and a little cranky, even if I slept well the night before. The cranky comes from an inner assumption that I must be doing something wrong to feel like this, and I’d better fix it. Only I’ve discovered that I don’t need fixing, I need acceptance and a change in perspective.

The other day I wanted to create a post for the blog. I wasn’t feeling sparked about anything. I was feeling tired. So, with no inspiring thoughts to guide me I went back over past journal writings I keep for this purpose. I discovered a story I wrote and found it to be a good fit for the blog.

Before I knew it, I was immersed in rereading the story, adding a little description here and there, creating the post format on the website, finding the right quote and the right picture to go with it. I was in the flow.

It all came so gracefully and unexpectedly when I hadn’t been feeling the spark at all. I’d uncovered a little pocket of joy.

Later that day, though I knew I should be weeding and mulching out in the yard, I just didn’t feel like all that effort. Instead, I drifted into the kitchen and tried out a dessert recipe that I’d been hanging onto for a while. It turned out well. That buoyed me up and I decided to check on-line for other recipes to try. There, I stumbled upon a gluten-free bread baking book. Feeling a little spark, I downloaded it.

There’s a discovery here – little pockets of joy happen, even when we don’t otherwise feel inspired, if you follow your energy.

It’s easy to feel joyful when we’re feeling really inspired about something. That joy spills over into everything. The energy is flowing strongly and it feels great. Yet, even in times when the energy is not flowing strongly, the joy still happens. It’s just quieter, and we’re less apt to be conscious of it, though that is when we most need to be aware of joy happening.

I didn’t think I was inspired that day. I just thought I was tired. Instead, I found my inspiration in places I didn’t expect it, in old journal writings, in a recipe I had been holding onto and never tried, in a new cookbook. I found it and didn’t recognize it for what it was, because I thought I should be feeling inspired about working in the yard. 

Instead, I just did what I had the energy to do.

The discovery is that there is joy happening all the time. It may be quieter, less obvious on the down side, but it is there.

Instead of focusing attention on trying to fix ourselves during these times, we could focus attention on where the quiet enjoyment is.

Maybe it’s a new recipe, an inspiring movie, a book. Perhaps it’s sitting quietly and sipping a cup of tea. The thing is, it’s there. It may just look a little different than we expect.

It requires the self-acceptance not to beat ourselves up because we think we should be doing something else, even as our hearts are guiding us to the quieter inspirations. It requires a change in perspective to see the rainbow.

And the surprise is, it’s not about what we’re actually doing, not really.

It’s about following the changing flow of creative energy from within. It floods sometimes and it trickles other times, but it’s always there.

I thought it wasn’t there that day. I was wrong. I was looking for the flood. Instead I needed to listen for the trickle.

The inspiration is there, even on the days when it feels like it’s not. Your inner self will guide you if you give yourself permission to listen, and look for the rainbow.  

​ “For one minute, walk outside, stand there, in silence. Look up at the sky and contemplate how amazing life is.”
—Anonymous
 
In the months before we moved into our new house, I came across a home show on TV hosted by a loving and humorous couple from Texas.
 
There is much to love about the show, but what grabbed me was the decorating style. I loved the look, and studied everything I could find about it. By the time we moved into our new house I had incorporated those ideas into my own decorating style and had a wonderful time creating that look in our own home.
 
My home now inspires me as I walk from room to room and see the results of creating each room with love. Not because the rooms are fancy or elegant, I must admit they may not even be clean and neat, but the colors, the textures and the balance, still evoke a feeling of love within me.
 
Throughout this adventure I learned that decorating is fun and satisfying if you start with a look that inspires you. That inspiration gives you the colors, form and feeling that you want to convey in a room. It is like a master recipe from which to work, inspiring creativity.
             
The same may be true in creating our lives. We can live creatively, approaching life as an art form, creating each day rather than just surviving it. To do this we need to find our inspiration.
 
What would inspiration for your daily life look like? Here are a few ideas.
 
My life inspiration is that feeling of love and appreciation I feel when I lose myself in the night sky, or the fresh, deep green of my yard and woods with its symphony of birdsong, or the laughing delight of my grandchildren in play, the centeredness I feel when writing and meditating, that feeling of tuning in with a client, loving connections with family and soul family, the excitement of a new adventure, a new idea or understanding. All of that inspires me with love and appreciation.
 
What inspires you in your daily life?

“I just dropped in to see what condition my condition was in.
Yeah, yeah, oh-yeah, what condition my condition was in.”
-Mickey Newberry
 
I have lately been more aware of the beauty surrounding me, especially outdoors. Yesterday morning I walked outside and it was as if it called to me. A bird sang, the air was bright and beautiful. It was like a “heads up!” message. Yet I didn’t know what to do with it except to notice.

Last night I dreamt of being driven in a van through the Alps. The beauty of the mountains was overwhelming. Tears of joy filled my eyes. I was glued to the window not wanting to miss one instant of the beauty.

Recently too, the sunsets have attracted me and felt like a pathway to feeling the love of Spirit, a daily reminder of just how much we are loved.

Perhaps the message is to focus on the beauty of all that surrounds us, both inner and outer beauty. Focus on God’s love and how that love is shown, both large and small. It is all there for us to be open to, to focus on every day.

Pay attention to beauty as a reflection of God’s love and you are choosing to allow more and more of it to enter your daily life.

Additionally, pay attention to what else you are paying attention to. Look at where your attention goes. Is it something you want to increase in your life? It will.

And then there is this - pay attention to where your positive attention is, for it is not random. What attracts and entices you is your Spirit communicating with you, guiding you to your inspiration. 

What is your Spirit saying to you today?

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Photo by Simon Matzinger on Unsplash