to inspire.

Inspiration is bliss. In-spuh-ray-shun. The very word, in its English form, makes me think of swirls and colors and sparkles and rainbow splatters of paint on the blank canvas of my mind. Or sun flares and glittering eyes dancing before a camera lens. Inspiration. It is to be embraced whole-heartedly, and not without courage.

I revel in the times when good ideas flow like water, and live in detestation of moments--or hours--or days--when my "blank canvas" remains insufferably blank. I want to inspire; to give to others what some have given me--the gift of a new thought.

It takes persistence to seek out hidden beauty, to perceive the world in color instead of black-and-white, to go beyond boundaries--to inspire and to be inspired.

I want to be the writer that can describe a grandmother's home like a magical realm; the photographer who can capture love in its original form; the artist who looks beyond the palette and into the soul of her subject; the speaker who knows both passion and artistry.

Inspiration is bliss. It can find us naturally, but most often we must seek it out--through books, through pictures, through an hour of deep thought--and determine what we will do with it.

What inspires you to inspire?

photo copyright 2012 lucia m. // please do not use without permission.