Finding inspiration within routine of everyday life can be difficult to say the least. Sometimes finding the motivation to just get out of bed in the morning is tough enough, let alone the motivation to do something or create something great with one’s life. What sets apart history’s most notable inventors, artists, authors, poets and musicians from the average citizen of planet Earth who lives life in pursuit of the same goals as their neighbor or their predecessors?

This question has long intrigued the human mind since the dawn of civilization. The desire for transcendence, or producing something (an idea even) never before produced by another human is core to man’s drive to seek knowledge, adventure and a better, richer future. It is this desire that creates our self image and sense of being a unique individual.

When speaking of inspiration I think it best to start with some of the early recorded thought on the subject and a little background on the Muses as much of modern beliefs about the meaning of the word inspiration are founded in these mythologies. Ancient Greek mythology describes the muses as goddesses who inspire the creation of all literature and arts. They were considered the source of all knowledge that was retained an related orally for centuries through poetic lyrics and myths – quite the important role in the creation of society and culture.

The Muses were thus considered the embodiment of performed speech, called “mousike” which formed the root of the modern word “music” which was considered the art of the Muses. (Neat huh?) Before the widespread availability of written text (in the form of scrolls) music was the primary form of all learning. At the dawn of literature, Muses were often invoked by authors as the true voice of their writing, regarding themselves as just a mouthpiece for the Muse.

This divine being explanation for explanation is not exclusive to Greek mythology however. In fact, many cultures and religious have similar out-of-body explanations for the moment of inspiration. So many that even simply trying to provide an overview of their breadth would make this post way too long to hold the attention of anyone but the most scholarly readers.

More interesting to most of us is probably the how modern thought about inspiration continues to evolve in our increasingly manufactured and automated world and how we can bring more of it into our lives in order to create and achieve our goals.

The origin of the word “inspiration” actually sheds some light on its purpose in our lives. Etymologically the word “inspire” is very similar to words related to breathing in air. As such, it would be safe to assume a good spiritual metaphor might be the act of bringing something into one’s soul. Thus internalizing an intangible influence within ourselves and allowing it to become a driving force behind our actions and the motivation to exert out desire to create upon the world. It is this motivation that can also be considered inspiration as it drives us to make our inspiration tangible.

I believe it’s safe to generalize that a majority of people at some time in their lives feel the need to gain additional motivation in order to proceed with their daily life. Many turn to drugs like caffeine and alcohol or antidepressants in order to put their body and nervous system temporarily into overdrive to achieve a brief and fleeting feeling of the kind of motivation that true inspiration would bring. Unfortunately while this may provide the willpower and energy to continue when you might otherwise give up on an uninteresting task, the achievements one can make with true inspiration can make this fleeting momentum appear as just urgently passing time.

True inspiration is achieved when one opens themselves to the world around them, taking in the possibilities that abound to explore their true interests. A chance encounter with a stranger, a beautiful vista, or the sound of a new environment can spark a thought that breaks one’s conventional routine, leading them down a conceptual path that can only be forged by the sum of their unique experiences – but only if you take the time to listen to that thought, the muse within you.

[image via: Flickr]