Looking for Inspiration

Inspiration follows aspiration. Rabindranath Tagore

People of different backgrounds, beliefs and professions have been looking for inspiration for centuries. And yet this inexplicable phenomenon hasn’t yet lost its novelty. We still yearn for it because in this state we’re capable of doing miraculous things, bringing to life ideas, melodies and images which have never existed before. To understand what inspiration is and to learn the mechanism of its production would mean to gain insight into the very heart of the creative process, to get control over it, to make our activities more effective. But it turns out that a general mechanism of creativity evades our understanding. Inspiration is something really personal, different from person to person. I asked my students from the Department of Social and Cultural Studies at Moscow Teachers’ Training Institute to share their understanding of inspiration. I also asked them the question I’d recommend you ask yourself: “What brings you inspiration?”

Peter A. Stepichev, MHPI teacher, MELTA coordinator

What brings me inspiration?

Inspiration is like a storm in the middle of summer! At first something tender fills my chest – like a light breeze that blows from the South, the wind, bearing the smell of water. Then my heart begins beating faster and faster – like clouds fill the sky. And finally, suddenly, in one moment there is an explosion – a thunderclap! And then the rain starts with countless drops of water, bringing freshness and ease.

Some people are sure that they have no inspiration. Oh! They are so wrong! Inspiration lives in every soul! But sometimes it could be deeply asleep or just be having a nap. And you never know at what moment and what exactly will wake it up! Inspiration always appears spontaneously. For example on a spring morning, when you first open your eyes, look around and suddenly notice that the sun fills your room with its light so unusual, not like yesterday! Rays caress your knees, hands, tenderly slip over your face and hair… Oh! And here it is! Inspiration. Now you want to sing, you want to write poems!

Or… when you’re sitting on the bench in the Zoo, suddenly you start sensing the smell of cotton candy – and at once you start recalling your mom’s hands, your father’s laughter, your grandma, your brother… your childhood. And all these thoughts bring some kind of light sadness to your soul and an unexpected tear appears on your cheek.

Or… when you’re looking at your old friend, staring in his eyes you feel how close he is to you at this moment. And it’s so fantastic that you want to stop time. You embrace your friend and feel his heart beating. It’s like touching eternity.

At moments like these, my soul feels tight in my body. I need to express myself in drawing, singing, making something beautiful, new, unusual. I need to create. Creativity is like the fruit of my soul which is ripening inside my mind and heart. It’s necessary for my soul, like oxygen for my lungs. That’s why I find inspiration everywhere.

Inspiration lives in autumn leaves, in tough, salty ocean wind, in the magnificence of mountains, in charming melodies, in the eyes of passers-by, in children’s smiles, in mom’s hands, in conversations with my brother in our kitchen till sunrise. Inspiration lives in the rain, in loneliness, in the sound of a boiling teapot, in the snowfall, in the whiteness of winter, in the smell of fresh-baked bread, even in street-lamp lights, in nights, in a sweetheart’s touch, in a kiss, in the birth of new life, in a blossom and in the ecstasy of youth, in wise peacefulness of old age and even in death.

Inspiration is everywhere. It’s inside of us. Because inspiration is inherent for every creator, and every human being is a creator.

Darya Zharikova, MHPI

What is Inspiration?

Inspiration is an elevated mood, a condition of spirit provoked by a person, God, a kind or evil spirit. It is a set of passionate uncertain desires which comes during work and not always at the first call. It is necessary to work always, to suffer, believing that inspiration will come to a person who manages to win the mood. Many things can cause inspiration. It is nature, art, love or different events in life. A person can read something new, find out about new developments, argue on certain themes and suddenly feel the surge of new forces, new ideas and clever thoughts. Each person is an individual. And he/she can bring a lot of interesting and unknown things to this world. That’s why inspiration plays an important role in the life of a human being. Everything that mankind has comprehended, all discoveries have been made by creative people. And we should remember that any work goes well only for optimists and inspired people; we should undertake work with attention and desire and see only the positive aspects of life.

There are cases when something is created with hatred, envy and bad mood, though. But these are bad examples. And a person shouldn’t follow them as only humane ideas and creations remain in the memory of mankind and are remembered with delight.

I am a person who is familiar with inspiration. I like to work with a sense of love for what I do. I like creative people who are capable of thinking above the ordinary, and who are capable of sharing their knowledge. I like to communicate with them, to learn about the world around me. I think it will be useful for me in the future since inspiration is born of persistence and work. It can come to me when I see something fine, when I am in a good mood or in an impulse of pleasure. At such moments I would like to live and take everything from life, to create new things and to share them with other people.

Nastya Sai, MHPI