From Spark to Fire: Finding Inspiration in the Darkest Places

( Dear friends I'm traveling now and I will be updating this article over the next 24 hours so keep checking back in on it, i'm keeping to a personal commitment of 1 article per day and staying focused on progress NOT perfection)

www.bluescorpioninv.com

From Spark to Fire: Finding Inspiration in the Darkest Places

For most people it's easy to find inspiration when things are going well – when the sun is shining, everything is going your way, and life is good. But what about when things aren't going well and very difficult? How do we find inspiration in those moments when everything seems to be going to hell?

The truth is, inspiration is in everything around us, especially in the darkest of places. It's just a matter of shifting our perspective and looking for the light.

One great way to find inspiration in difficult times is to focus on daily gratitude. Even when things are tough, there are always things to be grateful for – like the things we take for granted everyday, a roof over our heads, food on the table, the love of family and friends. By focusing on what we do have, rather than what we don't, we can find a renewed sense of hope and inspiration.

Another way to find inspiration in difficult times is to look for key lessons. Every challenge we face has something important to teach us, whether it's about ourselves, about others, or about the world. By embracing these lessons, we can find new sparks of light that manifest our creativity and fuel our passions.

Even though it feels very lonely, it's important to remember that we are not alone. When we're going through tough times, it's so easy to feel completely isolated and disconnected from our community. But the truth is, there are people all around us who are going through similar struggles. By diving deep into the pain 1st and going through it until we don't feel it anymore, we can find inspiration and support that helps us through even the darkest of times. These lessons help us to help others when they're going through something similar.

Finally, it's important to take care of ourselves. When we're stressed and overwhelmed, it's very easy to neglect our own needs – we stop exercising, we stop eating well, we stop doing the things that bring us so much happiness. But it's precisely in these moments that we need to prioritize self-care. By taking care of ourselves, we give ourselves the strength and resilience we need to keep going and find inspiration in even the darkest places.

Finding inspiration in difficult times is a matter of switching your mindset and perspective. By focusing on daily gratitude, learning lessons form your experiences, connecting with community, and taking care of ourselves, we can find the spark that ignites our creativity and fuels our passions. From spark to fire, we can find tons of inspiration in the darkest of places.

Finding inspiration from Muses:

But sometimes we need a little extra special inspiration. And for centuries, artists have turned to muses to provide that inspiration - those elusive, otherworldly beings who float around looking beautiful and providing endless fodder for creative pursuits.

The ancient Greeks were all about the muses. They had nine of them, each responsible for a different art form. There was Calliope, the muse of epic poetry, Melpomene, the muse of tragedy, and even Urania, the muse of astronomy (because apparently stargazing was an art form back then). These muses were believed to be the daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne, the goddess of memory. So not only were they inspiring, they had some serious pedigree.

Jump ahead a few centuries to the Renaissance, and muses were still going strong. Artists like Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo were inspired by beautiful women, and it wasn't uncommon for wealthy patrons to hire women to serve as muses to their artists. These women were often expected to be well-educated and able to hold their own in intellectual discussions with the artists.

Fast forward to the 20th century, and we have the likes of Andy Warhol, who famously turned Edie Sedgwick into his muse. Sedgwick was a young socialite who became one of Warhol's "superstars" and appeared in many of his films. Warhol was known for his obsession with fame and celebrity, and Sedgwick embodied that for him. He once said of her, "I think she's going to be bigger than Marilyn Monroe."

But what is it about muses that makes them so important to artists? For one thing, they provide a source of inspiration that can be difficult to come by. The muse becomes an object of desire, something to strive for, something to impress. They also represent something outside of the artist themselves, something that can help them break out of their own heads and explore new ideas.

There's also a certain level of objectification that comes with the muse-artist relationship. Women, in particular, have been used as muses throughout history, often reduced to nothing more than a pretty face or a source of inspiration for a male artist. And while there are certainly examples of women who have used their own artistic talents to become muses in their own right, the fact remains that the muse-artist relationship can be problematic at best.

So where does that leave us in a ME TOO universe? Will muses still be acceptable in a social media world where we strive for equality and respect for all people? It's a tricky question, but one thing is for sure: artists will always need inspiration. Whether that comes from a muse, from within themselves, or from the world around them, the creative impulse will continue to drive us forward. And who knows, maybe someday we'll see a world where everyone is their own muse, inspiring themselves to create beautiful things. Til then, we'll just have to keep looking for those elusive, magical beings who can help us tap into our creativity and produce something truly inspired with full written consent of course.

Can't start a fire without a spark (Muse Bruce Springsteen)...Jamison

#WhatInspiresMe #Motivation #Inspiration