CinplangNan is the co-author of Levography and Grace, the first publication to bear the colophon of RANDOM DESPATCHES. This is also a piece in commemoration of the 1,000-milestone reached on the subscriber count on here. Enjoy her essay!
What makes a creative? Inspiration.
I believe every human decision, thoughts and action is inspired. But, where do these powerful and subtly controlling inspirations come from?
Am I saying that EVERY human being is creative? Yes!
Writing this, I was inspired by the animated movie Soul, which tells the story of a music teacher who only ever wanted to be a famous Jazz musician. It took him dying, becoming a mentor to a soul that didn’t even want to be on earth, becoming a cat, helping the said Mentee find her spark (inspiration), dying again, almost ceasing to exist entirely and becoming selfless to actually have his dream come true.
My point is, I think inspirations come from our hearts and our eyes.
“The eyes,” they say, “are windows to the soul.”
Do blind people then have no souls?
They do, just without a window the rest of us can use to look in.
In our hearts lay all of our dreams and desires, our very life, literally. These in turn influence how we see and interpret the world around us, which in turn opens the windows to our souls.
Blind people ‘see’ through sounds. Can we go on to say that, for them, “The ears are windows to the soul?”
Therapists/ psychiatrists have proven this to be confirmed through a test they give, passing images before you and using your interpretations to diagnose or offer help to you, to know the state of your wellbeing, to know you.
In a blind man’s case, perhaps sounds.
I am of the opinion that; inspirations come from our hearts, from our deepest desires and needs. They are echoes of our souls that illuminate the world outside. Inspirations come from our interpretation of the world around us; they come not as a superficial thought but from deep down within, unbidden from our core. I believe we each are a muse to our own selves; a lack of inspiration is a lack of connection from our very being.
I have been inspired to write this, and am probably giving a response to myself on this thought: “I’ve lost my muse.”