Ride the Wave

Reflection: #49

A storm suddenly began brewing inside of me, the calm waters began churning and roiling. Energy crackled and lightning suddenly illuminated the interior landscape with clarity as these waters demanded attention!

The spark of an idea arrived from the previously calm void inside me - an idea from my psyche, or God, or perhaps both arrived…and I started typing.

Before my very eyes inspiration became creation, and through me, though I had temporarily ceased to exist, the mysterious source inspired and breathed life into a work of art on the page in front of me. And, when I shared it with others, those who saw it, who read it, felt that energy.  Many thanked me for writing it and shared how it had touched them. It had made a small difference to a few, though in truth I wasn’t the one who deserved the credit….was I?

When this moment of inspiration happens, it's as if one can see beyond themselves temporarily.  Everything feels connected, everything makes sense, and you simply know that you're onto something important.  It feels similar to the ultra clarity that washes over you while meditating.  

Meditation is pure sweet potential, while art is that potential energy in action - the potential having been made kinetic. It is this creative kinetic reality - art - that gets shared across the neuronal-like pathways through humanity to spark even more action potential in others and, if we do it right, we each become part of a virtuous upward spiral of expanding ordered complexity and cohesive beauty. We are a collective of holons. Each part. Each whole. Each receiving and contributing to the overall mind of which we are all a part.

This is the moment that the Universe “breaths life” into you.  You become in-spired. And, in doing so, you temporarily wake up to life and it then breaths life into your art.  And, when this happens, you must flow with it.  

The waters become stormy but you must ride the wave.  The waves loom large.  But don’t be afraid, for you will no longer be there, like a master surfer you have become the very wave you are attempting to ride.  And, if you are successful in riding that first wave, as you drop into flow, you will find yourself surfing wave after wave of the mysterious source as you struggle to get down on paper, canvas, guitar or other instrument of creation enough of what is flowing through you to capture the vibration in the form of art.  Sometimes it feels like a race to complete it more fully before the orgy of energy calms down again.  

I've learned that mistake the hard way - don't stop!  When you're riding that wave of inspiration, you'll feel alive, almost high….high on life, I suppose.  You feel like you could keep it up forever.  It's so effortless, and you’ll think "I'll start right where I left off in the morning."  Stopping is a mistake!  That is The Resistance, the enemy speaking.  That is your own self trying to exert control again.  Nay!  A surfer must ride the wave all the way until it breaks.  If you stop, The Muse will have withdrawn.  If you wait until morning, you'll have to start paddling your surfboard out into energy’s deep waters again to hunt big waves anew only to find that the storm has moved on to more receptive surfers. 

It's not always convenient, but ride the big waves while they're gracing you.  

“People might think you can turn creativity on and off, but it's not like that. 

It just kind of comes out: A mash up of all these things you collect in your mind.  

You never know when it's gonna happen but when it does, it's like magic. 

It's just that simple and just it's that hard.”

- Gwen Stefani

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