Where does inspiration come from? It’s everywhere and yet it’s nowhere. It’s born in the connections we make with both internal and external stimuli. The struggle with finding inspiration is that it often hides when we want it the most. Cue serendipity.
I like background noise when I’m working. It helps keep my mind focused on the task at hand instead of wandering about and following every whim with a new browser tab. More often than not, I opt to watch re-runs of series I’ve enjoyed in the past.
It works because I’ve already seen it and I know what happens. So-and-so scrapes by, returns from the brink of death, arrives on time for the parent-teacher conference–whatever. Investment in the storyline is unnecessary, and I’m not on the edge of my seat. It’s background fill for my wild-child, multitasking brain that never rests.
A somewhat recent favorite is CBS’s Madam Secretary. I was re-watching the series from the beginning as background while working, not paying any active attention at all, when suddenly my brain screams at me. Wait, what? Yep, it demanded I immediately stop what I was doing and pay attention.
The connection? This quote from the show:
“When everything seems to be lacking in integrity, you know what you do? You find it in yourself. You can change the world right from where you’re standing.”
“Henry McCord” in Madam Secretary
It’s profound, it’s simple, and it’s true.
And it’s relevant–to me, personally, and to life in general. I struggle a lot with the world around me, and I have a tendency to be cynical and question the motives of everyone and everything. Lack of integrity frustrates me on every level of my being. It’s something that I just cannot understand.
None of us can control what other people around us do, or how they think, or the choices they make, but the one thing we can control is ourselves. I can’t force someone to have integrity, but I can find it in myself. And I do.
And inspiration? Well, I didn’t find it–it found me. The connection my brain drew from that one line in the show inspired this entire post. I wasn’t looking for it, but there it was. Serendipity indeed.
Where do you find your inspiration? Do you actively seek it or does it just find its way to you while you’re busy going about your daily routine?
Best to all,
