Practices From the Inside Out: Lighting the Fire of Inspiration

The Fire of Inspiration

How do we practice lighting the fire of inspiration?

There are days when I feel the heat from inspiration on my face. It may be warming my fingers on the keyboard or the back of my neck.

Then there are days when nothing seems to spark inspiration for me. I try match after match and nothing seems to catch fire.

Is there something wrong with the matches or the strip on the side of the box? Am I striking them at the wrong angle?

It can be a challenge for us to light the fire of inspiration. We work hard to light our own fires and keep them burning.

There are so many things which can extinguish inspiration in us. It can be blown out with a single breath or drowned with water. We may forget to feed the fire of inspiration with the fuel or air it needs.

It is easy for us to get caught up in inspiration when we are living with it. We feel like its heat and light are things we can never lose. Then, when inspiration is more elusive, it can feel like they are lost forever.

There is only so much we can do to inspire ourselves. It is people or ideas outside ourselves which inspire us. We read about an example from history or we meet someone who embodies inspiration.

Sometimes inspiration requires patience. We need to sit listening and waiting to light the fire of inspiration.

It would be more convenient if inspiration were more under our control. If only we could flip a switch and turn on inspiration when we wanted it. We would waste less time and be more productive.

How does inspiration work for you?

Igniting the Fire of Inspiration

What sparks inspiration in you? When do we feel inspired? What do we mean when we describe ourselves as inspired? How can we tell whether the fire of inspiration is burning within us?

My favorite dictionary tells us the word “inspire” comes to English from Middle English via Old French from late Latin. Originally meaning breathing in or breathing into, inspiration fills someone with the urge or ability to do something.

We talk about inspiration to move in a specific direction or make a certain decision. Some people inspire confidence or inspire the rest of us to take action. We may become inspired to behave in a particular way or develop personal qualities.

Inspiration can seem intangible or ethereal. We do not know how inspiration works, but recognize it when it happens.

We may struggle to determine the best way to move forward or solve a problem. Weighing alternatives and trying to predict possible outcomes can get us hopelessly lost. Our struggles continue until we tie ourselves in knots. We are not able to move forward and become tired and frustrated.

I often find it helpful to take a breath and allow the variables to calm down in my mind. It is almost as if inspiration waits until I stop trying so hard.

The first step in practicing inspiration is often pausing my efforts to take a breath.

Breathing is not merely taking a break or wasting time. We give our hearts and minds an opportunity to realize what is being inspired in us.

It is not possible to force anyone or anything to inspire me. What inspires other people often does not inspire me.

We cannot force the fire of inspiration to spark into life within us.

Preparing for the Fire of Inspiration

Something outside our control often sparks the fire of inspiration in us.

We prepare for inspiration even though we cannot determine when or how it might arrive.

People who make room in their lives for inspiration are the ones who inspire me.

Inspiration is not the opposite of working hard or using our minds. The effort we put into struggling to understand fuels our inspiration.

It is not as if we can sit back and wait for inspiration to do our work for us. We do not want to be completely dependent on the power of inspiration.

The fire of inspiration, when sparked within us, needs a safe place to burn. We are putting together a strong fireplace so, when it strikes, we can put inspiration to work.

There have been times when the fire of inspiration has singed the hair on my arm. At other times I have waited and waited for inspiration to arrive.

Our practice of inspiration is not about becoming all or nothing. The balance we seek incorporates all the gifts we have to help us move forward.

We are not trying to become exclusively one thing or another. Our practice helps us prepare to do what we can.

There will be times when everything seems to fall into place almost effortlessly. At other times we will need to work through the night fitting the pieces together.

Recognizing the Fire of Inspiration

It can be easy for us to make assumptions about how the fire of inspiration works.

We may want to believe inspiration feels like we are riding the top of a wave. Momentum will carry us along because we are doing what we are inspired to do.

There are times, I believe, when we will be inspired to work as hard as we can. The pattern of inspiration emerges in us when we are pressing as hard as we can.

The fire of inspiration burns within us and we refuse to allow setbacks to stop us.

There will be times when we are inspired to continue striking matches in the dark.

My friend Brenda Hanley and I host a conversation on Twitter which focuses on a word to live by each Sunday. Please join us on Sunday, May 20 at 6:00 PM Pacific Time as we explore inspiration. We will be using the hashtag #WordsToLiveBy.

How does the fire of inspiration burn within you today?

Where will we experience the power of the fire of inspiration this week?

[Image by kalleboo]

Greg Richardson is a spiritual life mentor and leadership coach in Southern California. He is a recovering attorney and university professor, and a lay Oblate with New Camaldoli Hermitage near Big Sur, California. Greg’s website is StrategicMonk.com, and his email address is [email protected].