12 June 2013

What to do when your inspiration throws you curve balls?

Inspiration has no rules - but it can take you to your dreams, and a happiness you have never known.  Maybe to dreams which were buried so deep you'd forgotten they existed.  Maybe to new dreams borne from deep inside of you; a part of you which you have been ignoring because life had put you on a different path. 

You tell yourself it's silly.  Your life is a steamroller headed in one direction.  You can't mess with that can you?  The excuses pour into your head; no, you can't do anything about this; you have your daily routine - can't possibly deviate - it wasn't part of the plan.   And so another inspired idea is lost.

But look at the people who inspiration found, and they acted upon it.  For some of them it not only changed the course of their lives, but it changed the course of all our lives.  Steam power, light bulbs, rubber, electricity, penicillin, the wheel, gravity, could the world possibly be a sphere revolving around the sun?  When these inspirations found their people, it was likely easier for them to look the other way and carry on with their life as before, but they saw beyond that.  These people changed everything.

Why is all of this relevant to you?

Inspiration doesn't have to be as huge as the wheel to improve our lives infinitely. We follow many small ideas and they guide us.  If we follow the light that is inspiration it will take us on a journey.  That inspiration is your soul guiding you to your own happiness.

But that idea isn't part of the plan!

But what happens when inspiration throws you curve balls  things you werent expecting?  Does this sound familiar?  It happens a lot, and recently it happened to me.  What I learned is worth sharing, and I hope you will find it useful.

I've written in this blog of my journey from illness into writing.  My learning and energy could only be poured in that direction, or into activities that could help me towards that goal.  I had unwittingly attached blinkers to my eyes  I know Im not alone in that respect.  Many of us, along with age, develop tunnel vision whether we realise it or not.

I chanced upon an advertisement for an advanced diploma in photograhy.  My body reacted at a visceral level.  I felt an energy release deep in my gut that radiated through me.  No, I couldn't do that; it wasn't part of the plan. I must keep focussed - must not let myself be distracted - can't let this pull me away from my dreams.  So I parked the idea and moved on - or tried to.

The thing is that this visceral sort of inspiration comes from a place deeper than your consciousness.  This is a place which knows you - your capabilities, likes, dislikes, and even dreams better than your "conscious mind". You ignore it at your peril - it is guiding you for a reason.  We need to remember that our "conscience minds" are influenced by those around us, the values society teaches us, and can lead us to make the wrong decisions.  It may be a decision which makes total sense, but nonetheless is the wrong one for us.  You see; our conscious minds are fallible.

That visceral hit I had when I saw the photography course had no such misleading influences.  It was true to me, and who I am  - just as yours is true to you and who you are.  That hit was guiding me away from a wrong move.  It knew all about the love for photography which I had buried when I put on my blinkers.  It knew photography couldn't possibly pull me away from my dreams as it was as much a part of my dreams as writing.  It knew that words and pictures have been seen together on the same page for hundreds of years before they invented the camera. That visceral hit into my belly was there to make me look past my blinkers.  The truth was that I've been heavily into photography since the early 1990's, invested much in learning and kit, and already built a large portfolio.  So why was I ignoring something which was so clearly a passion - and a big part of my life?

What is part of the plan is not always relevant.  Plans can change for the better.  Mine can; yours can - and they should.

It's never really a curve ball

Inspiration may send us what appears to be a curve ball, but the old cliché is true.  Appearances can be deceptive.  Look into yourself  really look.  Is the inspiration compatible with the real you (that bit buried deep inside), or the version of you which you believe yourself to be (via your fallible and "conscious mind")?

I think that you already know that if the inspiration comes from that place deep inside of you - it's never really a curve ball.  I think that I did too.  I have no option other than to follow my literal gut reaction and see where it takes me.  I decided to let myself develop from the inside of my soul, rather than over-think with the logic society has assured me is the truth  your insides never lie.  What truer path can there be? 

We're all more than we think we are   

Im more than just a writer.  Thank heaven my inspiration reminded me.  This "curve ball" is part of the journey I was meant to take.  Inspiration comes to you for a reason, sometimes at the most inconvenient of times. 

My journey and this blog may not develop in the way I had initially envisaged, but that is part of the fun. I intend to enjoy this journey, and I hope that you will enjoy yours.  

From my portfolio
It is likely that a sister site will be borne as a companion to this site, as I continue to develop my portfolio.  I'm already developing it.  Ill let you know.

What curve balls did life throw at you?  Did you embrace them?

Do you have any inspirational ideas as to how I should combine my writing and my photography?

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