Saturday, July 13, 2024
During one of my gym training sessions, I shared something with my trainer. The gym was busy that day, people pushing, sweating, and grunting. I said, “What if you could harness all of this exerted energy and convert it into electric power?” He was intrigued and said, “How do you think of these things?” To that, I responded, “How could you not, it’s all around?”
Ideas are everywhere. People say, “Where do you get your ideas?” I get writing ideas from everywhere – conversations, reactions, and observing my own behavior and circumstances. I look at nature and observe. If you’re in tune, you’ll notice the earth is full of treasures as far as the eye can see. There are goodies all around you and all you have to do is observe and soak it in. Your curious nature will do the rest. Give it a chance – ponder, reflect, and focus.
I notice people. I notice the playfulness of nature. I notice myself. I notice how my own consciousness makes things into foreground/background. If you fine-tune your curiosity, focus it like a microscope you’ll see wonders of unimaginable proportions. Most people are blurry. They’re out of focus and see generalities. But specifics give us creative input. Emerson, Thoreau, Monet, and countless others simply observed nature. Galileo, Einstein, Da Vinci watched the universe and took notes. Watch people. Watch yourself. Get into your observatory, then express what you notice. Paint a picture. Write a book. Compose a symphony or write a poem.
Creative people are deeply moved merely by what they observe in a focused way. It’s all around, and you know something too but haven’t quite noticed that you notice. Treasures are right under your nose. Fine-tune your curiosity, and you’ll be in luck. But if you’re out of focus, you’ll be out of luck.