Thursday, September 28, 2017

When inspiration hits...

When inspiration hits, grab on and don’t let go. Open up the tap and let it flow. Find an outlet and let it out. These ideas, inspiration, energy is a response. It can be conscious, subconscious, internal or external but it comes for a reason. They only visit for a season. A few minutes, a week, several months and when it is gone, it is gone. Nurture it as you would a delicate flower. Tenderly, fleshing out the stem and petals then touching on the nuances. Texture of the petals. The glint of light off of the stem at this angle but not that. The nuances of color. The temperature of the stem. The delicate look of the petals. The graduation of color from the center of the flower to the outside. The bright pop of yellow from the stamen. The delicate dusting of pollen. The lure that makes one question what lies at the center, down the delicate yellow brick road into the center of the flower where the nectar is pooled.

These variables and this inspiration is fleeting. It is one of the more fragile things in life that we are blessed with experiencing and it must be honored or it will be lost. We are taught to hide this. Not overtly but in the subtle nuances of culture that affect us. It is taboo to react to music with our bodies. We should not react because it is weird. We should not express ideas that are contrary to the popular opinions or the thoughts of the experts. The truth is…that it is only the rebels, those bold enough to hold onto the faint flame of inspiration, that are willing to throw their bodies in front of the winds of the popular to protect the glimmer and use everything they are to nurture the idea, to feed it, to create a culture that values inspiration and provides fertile ground for them to sprout, to burst into flames.

Ideas are one of the only powers we are gifted with at birth that have the potential to drive massive change in the world. It is not intelligence or effort, but inspiration. Inspiration followed by intense, intentional perspiration to see them through to fruition. At that point, they must be validated. Not every inspiration will go somewhere productive and that is ok. We must first recognize inspiration and learn to nurture them…

Step Next is the vetting process. The idea is now more robust. It is a small campfire that can sustain itself. We have champions around us that see the idea for what it is and eagerly seek to vet out its merit. As idea factories ourselves, we must recognize and persevere through less than stellar receptions. We must boldly hold our own and push through to develop a vetting process that embraces and values the things we hold most dear. The reason for “our” existence. As an individual, as a company, as a church body, as a non-profit, activist organization, team or couple. The values we intentionally embrace are the only things we have to stand against everything we do not intentionally embrace or turn away.

Life is fragile. Ideas, more so.


Turn that music up. Dance to your own beat. Tell the world to fuck off. Be inspired. Dream bigger. Partner up with other dreamers. Dreamers unencumbered by should and should nots, emboldened by rebel peers and world changers. FUCK THAT.