Finding inspiration: the lighting of a fire
Photo by Jiroe (Matia Rengel) on Unsplash
One of my favourite quotes is by William Butler Yeats, who said: Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.
In our culture, we have this idea that learning is primarily about imparting knowledge and acquiring new skills. While knowledge and skills are part of the learning process, we sometimes forget the crucial element of inspiration.
Inspiration is the spark that sets us off to uncharted territory. It allows us to see the potential hidden by our preconceptions of the world. It enables us recognize the beauty before us and within us that had gone unnoticed all this time. It is the flame that fuels our hearts to manifest our highest qualities.
The word inspiration comes from an Old French word inspiracion which means "inhaling, breathing in". It came to mean "the immediate influence of God," as in the story in Genesis, where God breathed into man's nostrils to give him life. Ah, that makes it more clear: inspiration is what gives us life.
In order to find inspiration, we have to learn how to pay attention. We also have to remain open. When you interact with someone, what are you paying attention to? Are you open and receptive? If we learn to pay attention and be open enough to hear their deep longings and passions, we can become inspired by anyone we meet.
When you walk on a trail, what are you paying attention to? Are you open and receptive? Why is it that the indigenous people, some of whom continue to live in the depths of the forests, can see more than we can, hear more than we can, feel more than we can? What allows them to tap into the pulse of the Earth and find the breath of life in all living things?
One place where we often forget to find inspiration from is within ourselves. I believe it was the American author Truman Capote who said an artist or writer needs to be genuinely moved and emotionally invested in their work in order to effectively touch and move their audience. What is the source of that fire within us that can move nations? And the beauty we see in others — where does it lie in ourselves?
These days, I find myself inspired by the voices of our youths. Their perseverance, strength and dreams give me hope for the future of this world — a world suffering from a lack of imagination.
You see, inspiration is not something trivial — it is not a cherry on top of the cake. It is the creative force itself. We are creative beings, after all, here to shape a world we have been given — for better or worse. So it's time to shed our complacency and reclaim our birthright as creators of a sustainable future. We need to look to the places that inspire us once more.