When inspiration fails
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Hello friends, What happens when we’re not inspired? Or worse, what happens when we’re downtrodden, or exhausted, or want to give up? Well… Rest is always a good option when we can make space for it. Refilling the well is another strategy: going for a walk, reading a novel, listening to music, sitting under a tree, watching a movie, meditating… Other times, we have to adult, don’t we? The thing I’ve learned though, is that adulting goes better if I don’t carry the attitude that this sucks and everything is a grind. We don’t always have to feel inspired, we can show up because we’ve committed to something. We commit to family, community, spiritual practice, creative practice, work, nature, or ourselves. That’s all important. I don’t feel inspired today—as a matter of fact, I feel a bit tired—but here I am, committed to communicating with you. I will also get at least a short writing session in on my current novel, plus edit some audio. Maybe I’ll do some other business tasks, too. That’s a big maybe, but I’m keeping my options open. I’ll likely go for a walk, because that’s one of my other commitments. But I’m also not going to push too hard. When I’m in the flow of inspiration, energy rises, and vice versa. When I have more energy, inspiration is easier to access. Today, my energy feels low, but I’m doing my best to stay curious. How about you? How are your current life conditions and energy reserves? What helps you recommit or feel inspired? When inspiration fails, we still have life. I’m going to remember that. Best wishes — Thorn
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T. Thorn Coyle
Hello friends, I wrote this week’s newsletter in advance, because I’m camping with no cell service. It’s so good for my psyche to disconnect from electronics, stare at mountains, and walk along streams for a week. I’m a mind-racer, and this disconnection—like meditation or prayer—helps slow me down inside. The meditation on nature is always a gift to me, even in the small city where I live. For example, on the summer solstice, it was cool enough for me to take a long afternoon walk. I headed...
Hello friends, It’s Pride weekend, and I’m thinking of all the brave people who fought so hard to be allowed to simply exist. And I think of those who are still fighting, myself included. Do we want to fight? No. We’d rather just live our lives, do our work, laugh with friends, raise families, read books, and tend our gardens. Just like immigrants and other people under attack do. “The first Pride was a riot,” it is often said, and whether something is called a riot or an uprising depends on...
Hello friends, The yuccas are in full bloom right now, with dense clusters of creamy blossoms heavy as bells on tall stalks. This type of yucca is a spiky, unassuming plant when not in bloom, and then _bam_there is an astonishing wealth of flowers. While walking to a writing date the other week, I paused at a large grouping of these flowering plants, growing on the edge of a parking lot behind a chain link fence. The blossoms were buzzing with the activity of industrious bees. I paused a...