Giving Thanks To Those Who Inspire

I still think about Elizabeth Gilbert, the author of ‘Eat, Pray, Love’ describing inspiration as a giant squall (wind so to speak), spiraling across a field, and the individual in its path needing to not only see the twister coming, but be in a position to harness this energy. I got such a kick out of picturing this... a person running like all the dickens to get to a computer or typewriter, (or at the very least have a pen and pad in hand), so that when this squall passed through, he or she would be wrists arched, fingers scrambling, typing or writing as if the electricity was about to go out. In other words, this is one way for writers to beat writer's block.

Now here's the thing. Even though I was mesmerized by this visual, writer’s block wasn’t/isn’t my issue, despite this picture staying with me. This is stuff necessary to pay attention to because as it came to be, there actually IS another aspect to squally winds cratin' inspiration. Come to find out, the movement part of inspiration is more important than the inspiration itself. In other words, we can have loads of ideas cooking within us, but no energy to pursue the effort it takes to draw out the picture in words. 

Anyone who’s ever written anything might be well familiar with putting together a sequence of events. For some, sending one email might take hours, while writing one letter might take days. Imagine writing one novel (or book), which can be the equivalent of hundreds if not thousands of emails and letters. We can have all the inspiration in the world, but without energy those words may stay locked up in our heads.

With all that expressed, I happened to come upon bits of (unlikely) 'interludes' bundled with good energy. 

Has anyone been catching these Christmas Hallmark movies? The thing is, I’m not generally the mushy gushy type, but am loving these lovey-dovey romance TV programs. Unlike the case with music, or other programs that are too distracting, I’ve been able to let these movies play in the background and actually get work done.

Same goes for the cooking shows; particularly the holiday baking competitions. All kinds of motivation going on there; such as the impulse to keep an eye on the clock when I’m in the kitchen cooking and baking. Funny thing here is, I must be subliminally picking up tips as I shave off oodles of minutes I used to spend in the kitchen…with FAR better results!

And oh my goodness, I must slip in that Kellogg's Eggo Waffles (2021) dinosaur commercial. The best (and simplest) way to explain what is so motivating about this commercial is that this is one of the innocuous (not without mention the most precious) sightings that make you say, all is not lost😉. 

But here’s the real deal. With all this TV watching it would seem I haven’t gotten a thing done… writing wise.  Not true at all. Aside from the cooking and baking, and household duties, this background noise has culminated in tangible results. Not only are my writing projects moving along, but I met my reading goal ahead of schedule! This means there are (at least) 25 other individuals I have to credit as well. 

I just finished reading ‘Girl, Interrupted’ by Susanna Kaysen (thoughts HERE) and ‘Act Like You Got Some Sense’ by Jamie Foxx (thoughts HERE). 

Thank You! Thank You! Thank You!

#JustRead2GreatMemoirs #InspirationIsReal #GivingThanks #Thanksgiving #JustBlogged