I was thinking about the nature of inspiration one day when the idea of a haiku series came to me. I thought about how powerful it is that so many of us wait for inspiration. We wait on her (I say her because all of the most powerful forces tend to be female. That, and English vocabulary lacks the fullness to describe the intangible quality of ephemeral forces.) So yes, I was fascinated by the fact that so many of us just sit and wait for inspiration to do begin the doing of things. I was also intrigued by the reality that so many of us not only want to be inspired but also want to inspire others. I mean we sometimes refuse to work, or find an excuse not to make because "I'm not inspired. I don't have inspiration!"
I get it. To be in the zone of inspiration. To have things just manifest out of you, in your head, or in your hands, wherever your creation tools are (pencil, hammer, whatever you use to make great works).
It's euphoric. It's orgasmic. It feels otherworldly.
When you're in it, really in the thick of it, everything else in the world disappears. Fuck time. Fuck obligations. Fuck manners. Inspiration has you and the moment feels like your levitating in a space between times.
But what about those times when you aren't in this magical realm? When she's not visited you? When it's a regular day, but you still are tasked with creating? You are still a vessel, are you not? You still have the urge to create, do you not?
I imagine that Inspiration waits for us who dote on her, she wants us to work for her (attention). Much like work begets work, work seduces a visitation from Inspiration. I imagine that she wants the craftsmen who desire her presence to be so skilled so they can speak on it! #GameRecognizeGameSis.
So, while we wait for her to bless us, and don't act like you won't, because you will---we all love to be inspired and we all love to inspire, I challenge you to keep working. So that when she comes, it's glorious.
Yes, I do realize the double entendre. Your point?)
***
My Mistress is Called
My mistress is called.
In faith, she calls me her muse.
But in truth, she's mine.
She's Inspiration.
Yes, Inspiration itself,
she is my mistress.
I call my mistress
my all-consuming ruler
Then I wait. Nothing.
Now, in her absence,
steadily I move, for she
rewards all efforts
Inspiration comes.
and she sits and laughs at me.
I am enchanted.
My hands, too slow and
ill-equipped to document
this visitation.
But still, I persist.
Inspiration, she's fleeting.
What to say? Do? Write?
Hurry before she...
Inspiration leaves. I'm left
hollowed out by her.
Capricious she is.
Time? Is lost doting on her.
Effort... she rewards.
In her absence, work.
Tis my discipline she loves.
Discipline draws her.
So, I work, I must
An opus will bring her near
She is my mistress
PHOTO CREDIT - Antonio Mora is a beast. Technique: Double exposure. More on his work here.
Definition of mistress:
1: a woman who has power, authority, or ownership; a tutor who has achieved mastery in some field.
Definition of inspiration:
1: a : divine influence, power, or action on a person, intellect, or emotions
2 : the act of drawing in; specifically --- the drawing of air into the lungs