Inspired

Inspiration is a difficult thing to fake.

Well before I started this little chronicle, I tried to start another blog based on finding inspiration in every day life. It lasted all of two posts.

It's not that I couldn't find inspiration. In fact, I find myself inspired many times a day. The problem, however, is that I don't always know how to put that inspiration to work. Whether it's listening to the Jim Croce station on Pandora and wishing I could write a heartbreaking song, or seeing a clever commercial on television and wishing I could work in advertising, I have fleeting moments of passion and desire to create something, but they're gone before I can get a pen in my hand (or open a new Word doc).

I often wish that I had more time to spend on things like songwriting, but when I do have the time, I rarely spend it that way. Usually, when the opportunity presents itself, the universe isn't telling me to write. The universe, as I understand it, is telling me to eat potato chips and catch up on Jeopardy episodes.

What I need to do is force myself to spend a certain amount of time on these things every day or week or month so that I actually sit down and do them, but this has its own set of problems. Inspiration doesn't work on a schedule. It happens when it happens, and if you're not ready for it, you'll miss the window.

Fortunately, I have felt one consistent drive recently: to run. I've run consistently for the last 14 days, and I'm amazed at how singularly focused I've become. By eliminating rest days (and substituting short, easy runs instead), I've forced myself into a regular plan of running. Every day, I have my run, switch out my shoes, take my vitamins, and hop in the shower. It's created a lovely ritual that I look forward to every day.

And during the run, I watch. Instead of just passing all the scenery, I look around in hopes of finding something about which I can write. Some days, like today, there's not much going on, and that in itself is a topic. A lame one, perhaps, but post-able just the same. I take those thoughts and ideas, and I get to spend a little time writing each day. And all I have to do is get myself out the door.

If I can do that, I can do anything.

Tuesday's Run:
7.93 Miles