On Finding Inspiration

Hi interneters! I hope your summers have been going well.
My body clock has been a little wonky lately; I shifted from 10 am mornings to 6 am mornings this week for four days of robotics camp, so I found myself awake at 5:51 am today with nowhere to go. 

                                      Pretty close.
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I ended up wandering around the neighborhood trying to watch the sunrise. It was kind of anticlimactic; the sun seems to take way longer to get up than it does to go down at night. Which is not at all different from my own sleep schedule, I now realize. Also there were a lot of trees in the way. (How do people mired in the suburbs properly enjoy a sunrise like is that even possible?) But I did bring along a notebook, and that morning calmness that  feels the way the blue of a post-dawn sky looks was really really nice.
My morning escapade got me thinking about inspiration in the first place. With writing, there is a lot of times a tendency (not quite a pressure) to seek and find inspiration, whether that means nature hikes, people-watching, or seeking suburban sunrises. It got me thinking about a Chuck Close quote I saw online:

“The advice I like to give young artists, or really anybody who'll listen to me, is not to wait around for inspiration. Inspiration is for amateurs; the rest of us just show up and get to work. If you wait around for the clouds to part and a bolt of lightning to strike you in the brain, you are not going to make an awful lot of work. All the best ideas come out of the process; they come out of the work itself. Things occur to you. If you're sitting around trying to dream up a great art idea, you can sit there a long time before anything happens. But if you just get to work, something will occur to you and something else will occur to you and something else that you reject will push you in another direction. Inspiration is absolutely unnecessary and somehow deceptive. You feel like you need this great idea before you can get down to work, and I find that's almost never the case.” ― Chuck Close

The idea that inspiration is unnecessary is actually kind of liberating. Like we already have the capacity to create within ourselves, you know? Maybe that's the case. Maybe our seeking inspiration is just a way to tap into those creative recesses filled with paintings and poetry and ideas and to nurture, if not release, the silent genius within each of us.
I definitely like that idea. 

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What do you think? Either way, seeking inspiration definitely has its merits.
The great thing (and also the difficult thing) about writing, about creating, is that everything you do is very personal. Watching the sunrise is more about what you see in that sky than the sky itself. That's what I love about art: it's yours, and you are allowed to do whatever it takes to get that out onto paper. 

Enjoy loveliness and remember to muse. :)

On Doing Actual Work (don't laugh)

It has seriously been way too long, hasn't it.

Disclosure: this post contains writing from a very rusty blogger trying to scrape off the rust. Prettiness not guaranteed.

It's the end of the school year, and you know what that means. Motivation levels are off the charts. And by off the charts, I mean below the x-axis. Too low to be accounted for.

Accurate graph of student motivation

(notice how I didn't cite a source? It's cause I made the graphic myself HECK YEAH)

(okay I'm done it was my first time I had to)

These days (and most days) it's just so easy to push things off to the side. To me, the word procrastination has sort of become diluted; I've become desensitized to it just because I use it and do it and live it so often. Mentally clearing things off the table has become a habit to the point where I'll be reading an article about ways to use mint when it has overrun your urban windowsill garden when I should be studying for AP exams. I'll ask "Why am I doing this?" and answer "Because it feels right." 

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You know that feeling: when the thought of doing something pressing and actual (like writing a blog post *coughs violently*) is just so huge that you'd much rather sit in your bubble of contentment and internet self-help tinged with shame. It's not simply a matter of avoiding real work anymore; it's just habit. 

And as we all know, habits make or break you.

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That's why I've tried to simplify my self-expectations for getting things done in the hopes that my productivity level will at least increase by some tangible amount. (The good thing about being at the bottom is that you can only go up.) I realized that a lot of what stops me from doing anything at all is the terrifying prospect of some tasks in themselves; I don't want to reply to that urgent email simply because it's urgent, but the more I put it off, the stickier and scarier it becomes. 

Here's the secret: just start!

I realized this when I finally began a monstrous physics packet after days of stressing out and doing absolutely nothing about it. After I started, I felt much better and capable of actually making progress. Getting just the smallest bit done liberates you enough for you to finish.

That's partially why I'm writing now. Posting became this heavy thing that got harder and harder the more I waited. So I stopped waiting. :)

Hopefully my own beginning-in-an-attempt-to-continue helps you out a little bit with your own productivity struggles. Stay strong, interneters; go open that textbook, respond to that email, return that call, start that herb garden (mint is actual very sustainable in a setting with limited space like an apartment and it's also tasty and versatile I would know). 

Enjoy loveliness and remember to muse! 

Why are we alive?

Do you ever feel like you're in that awkward limbo state where you constantly alternate between tolerating most aspects of your life and believing you're a hopeless piece of crap? 

(I know I know I just started a blog post with a bold question so sue me)

Yeah me too. On that cheery note, welcome back to the blog, folks! :) I haven't posted in a while, but we're snowed in (Georgia and ice do not mix. Actually most roads in the world and ice do not mix), and I feel like I've been living in these self-imposed doldrums since 2013 ended. But there have been little moments of realization, and I really want to share these with you all in the hopes that someone else in the same tire swing of dissatisfaction may find the strength to stop the downward flush. (It's all a vicious cycle, everything is a vicious cycle, you all know this by now.)

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Always swinging , always too hypnotizing to stop, always slightly uncomfortable.

Figuring out how to enjoy life properly sometimes can take a conscious effort (it did for me, anyway). Our lives are programmed to be incredibly myopic:

wake up, hit snooze, wake up, hit snooze, actually wake up, insert caffeine into body, read about things that happened in the past 24 hours, commute somewhere while thinking about something that you will likely forget within the next month, do some work that needs to be completed within 24 hours, worry about the next 24 hours, go home, do more work that you will likely forget within a month, go on the internet to distract from the burden of work due in like 5 hours (bc it's 4am HAHA but really)

I mean, I don't know how well the above schedule applies to everyone, but the point is the same. So much of our lives is focused on results; we work to produce measurable output, concrete evidence of our success. It's so so easy to lose sight of your life and what you ultimately want it to mean. We lose track of not just our lives, but humanity as a whole; I find myself a bit startled when I come across timelines of earth's history and see the literal blip that is human life.We are very transient things; a human life is just some tens of years, maybe a hundred if you're lucky. What's that? Just a breath, an inhale on the geological time scale. 

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But we are all a part of this incredible human experience and we are all alive (I mean if you're reading this right now them I assume so) and a few decades is enough to do practically anything that Earth will allow. So,while I rode my snowed-in tire swing of self-doubt, I kept asking: What do I want my life to give to humanity? What, besides insurance money and crappy yearbook photos, do I want to leave behind after I die?

Steve Roggenbuck (internet poet and slammin' human being if you haven't heard of him) gave a really good answer with his video. 

(The video is focused on the role of poetry, but I think his message makes sense to everyone.)

It can be anything for anyone; do you want to make life better for people who don't have the resources to do so themselves? Do you want to teach? Do you want to inspire people, give them confidence? Do you want to make words and art that last longer than you do?

I agree with Steve; I think we are here to change each other's lives. If I can change someone's mind about something forever with my words, then I've lived. And that makes the assignments due tomorrow a little easier to handle. 

Enjoy loveliness
and always always remember to muse. <3

4 Ways to Start Fresh

Happy new year, interneters! 

http://notunderwater.tumblr.com/


It's that time of year again; the time with the most pressure to create new beginnings (other than that moment when you go from being a fetus to being no longer a fetus).

You may have heard this before, but the new year is not so different from the other 364 days except that the date happens to look the skinniest when written down. It's just another day.

I don't know about you, but the firecrackle and who-rah of the new year is equal parts inspiring and stress-inducing; the thought that I have to make use of this day and this week and this month because it's the freshest I'm going to be for the next whole year is a little bit paralyzing. And paralysis can seriously limit your productivity. 


http://nerios.tumblr.com/post/71808559311

Just remember that it has been and will always be true that every moment is an equally perfect time for a new beginning. It's just a matter of you deciding to give yourself the mental exfoliation necessary to begin.
When you think about, the fact that most people choose New Year's day as their new beginning is due in large part to the number of people participating; we call January 1st new because everyone else around us is starting over, which makes it easier for ourselves. 

But isn't it a little liberating to think that tomorrow could be the beginning of a new you? Or the next day? Or a day in the middle of June? Or the beginning of a new project or a new idea or a new way of thinking; there's definitely not always a need to be recreating our selves. 


With that said, it's nice to take to momentum of another January to sort of start fresh, try to let go of any failures that 2013 brought, and focus on your goals in the year to come. Here are some fun ways to try to feel like you're turning a blank page.

4 Ways to Start Fresh in 2014

Change your wallpaper. It may be a little difficult to do it literally, but freshening up the vista on your technology never hurts. Replace those autumn leaves with a patch of 4-leaf clovers. Change your lock screen to an inspiring quote.

 
http://www.imore.com/sites/imore.com/files/styles/large/public/field/image/2013/09/iphone_5c_green_ios_7_hero.jpg?itok=XLpqzWJ9

Don't break the chain. This productivity method, developed by Jerry Seinfeld, it a way to motivate yourself to do something every day and mark it off on a calendar; after you develop a running streak, you won't want to break the chain. Here's a nice printable calendar and more info.

Use technology. The best goals, or new years resolutions, are those that are measureable. With things like productivity on the computer and exercise, it can be hard to track exact amounts. Use apps like Nike Training Club (perfect for busy folks) to keep track of workouts down to the minute, and download free software like RescueTime that tracks how much time you spend on productive websites while online.


http://adorninc.files.wordpress.com/2011/02/nike-training-club-app.jpg
http://rescuetime.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/least-productive1.jpg

Start something new. The start of a new year is a great time to begin something that you always planned to do but never had the time, or courage, to pursue. Try writing a novel. Start a garden. Re-start correspondence with a childhood friend through snail mail.

http://o5.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/DeskPapers.jpg

I hope these ideas inspired you to go into the new year with enthusiasm and new goals. May 2014 bring you you the best of all things. :)

Enjoy loveliness and, as always, remember to muse. 

Productivity

Hi interneters, it's been a while.

Let's talk today about something I feel is almost central to my, and many many others', existence. Productivity. 

In a world where being able to run more than seven tabs at the same time merits bragging rights (maybe? for some people?) we're constantly pushed to DO things, to PRODUCE things. And when we can't, when we procrastinate and waste time that was probably carefully saved up by some other means, we feel like dismal failures that don't deserve to exist.


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If that's NOT true for you, please realize that your levels of satisfaction with life (and mental health) are most likely more stable than the rest of us. :)

For everyone left: welcome to productivity therapy, where I constantly second-guess myself as I give advice on something I struggle with all too often.

The nasty thing about trying to get work done when you just can't is that the more you pressure yourself to be "productive," the less likely you are to actually do anything. Procrastination is a scrape in the soil that has the danger of becoming a mine shaft in a second. Once you start scrolling through your news feed or catching up on Daily Grace, it's easy for your internal what-I-want-to-be-doing bar to shift from neutral towards lack of work. Sometimes the feeling of regret after YouTube binging leads to to whole "Oh, tonight I'll just not do anything and tomorrow I'll work really hard." You know.
It's not that bad until it becomes a nightly routine.


Or, you know, after you do something fun. 
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The hardest part is, surprisingly, forgiving yourself after that first video or episode or nap. The "once-I-start-I've-already-broken-the-seal" attitude leads to many wasted hours. Honestly, the nights I've gotten the most things done have been the nights when I was happy, energized enough from >4 hours of sleep the night before to actually relax while I worked. When you relax, you end up doing things because you want to, and more gets done in the end. 

Also.
Do. Things. You. Want. To. When. You. Want. To. Do. Them.
If you get an urge to dance to the song playing on Pandora or write a poem about your own legs or make a house out of paper, do it. These urges, once they pass, tend not to come back. And things like this are nurturing; they're like Vaseline on a chapped conscience. (That was gross, I know, just let it pass.) Doing the things you love and acting on whims, which may sometimes be productive themselves, give you energy and satisfaction, two key ingredients to conquering your to-do list and your bad habits.



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Example: I have eight tests and project next week and an awards submission essay to write (one that determines whether or not an entire TEAM of student will win an award they deserve). Yet here I am, blogging, and happier than I would be if I were weeping over my textboks right now. I can almost guarantee you that later, once I do turn to those pages of death, it'll be with fingers warm from typing, at the least, if not from contentment.  

So go ahead and watch that video. Then stop. Because you've filled that void, satiated that craving, and now just let yourself do the rest of the things you want (and need) to do.

You have the capacity to be productive in your own sense as much as you do to procrastinate. There are two toilets, and you don't need to spend all night in the one that flushes down.

(yeah so the visual you should have in your head right now is of an upside down toilet floating in mid air which is where you want to go because hey productivity right?)

Enjoy loveliness (actually enjoy it please)
and remember to muse. :)

Eye Candy for the Writer-blocked

Hi interneters!

Last year I made my first attempt at writing a novel in a month, taking part in the well-known (depending on who you ask) NaNoWriMo. 

[If you're not familiar with it, here's a run-down: during the month of November, aspiring novelists who want to take on the challenge can make a free account that lets them track their progress on their novel. The goal is to finish 50,000 words in 30 days. Hit up nanowrimo.org if it sounds like your kind of thing.
The purpose is sheer creative output, absolutely subject to extensive revision later. It's a let-me-prove-to-myself-that-I-can-do-this-thing.]

Now, with November approaching, I'm frantically scrambling for novel ideas and feeling sort of writer-blocked before I even begin. Sort of like every little piece of the story has to be perfect before I'm allowed to begin, you know? Which is totally not true.
Some photos I came across really inspired my, and maybe they'll do the same for you. 

Visual inspiration is a lot of fun and often very effective, even if you're not doing NaNoWriMo this year (or ever). Keep reading. These photos don't discriminate.

Take a look, and hopefully these artfully arranged pixels will help you increase your output of words, novelist or not. :)

Do me a favor, though. Scroll s l o w l y.



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Artist:  Noell S. Oszvald



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Artist:  Noell S. Oszvald



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Artist: Laura Williams



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Artist:  Noell S. Oszvald



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Artist: Murad Osmann



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Artist: Katerina Plotnikova

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Artist: Katerina Plotnikova

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Artist: Brian Yen

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Artist: Brian Yen

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Artist: Martin Parr

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Artist: Uda Dennie

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Artist: Katerina Plotnikova


Let me know if you guys are into this kind of thing; if it helped even the smallest bit with your creative struggles, I can make more of this sort of post. It was really fun to do!

Enjoy loveliness

and
remember to
m
u
s
e

Thought Provoker #7: Truth (and the lack thereof)

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As we age, we're exposed to more things, and we learn a lot of things about the world that we failed to notice as young whippersnappers.
I'm really impressed that whippersnapper is not underlined in red.

Anyway, one of these things that I'm becoming more aware of lately is the fact that many of my less desirable personality traits come from my upbringing. Which seems natural (or entirely unnatural, I'm not sure which), but it's still strange to realize the deep affect that parental biases (about races, genders, certain activities, the like) can have on your own opinion.

At a certain age, you may start to realize that some things your parents taught you to accept as fact are not necessarily true. 


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And then I go into this whole spiral of what-is-truth, and the reality is that it's almost impossible to deliver a perfect truth. Everyone, every author of every book and every webpage, is a human, and will therefore be (cue the awful word) BIASED. People have genders. Ages. Ethnicity. Lack of gender. The like.

And no matter how hard we try, at some points it's hard to deliver truth to other people. Sure, certain things like "Google was founded in 1998" are sort of indisputable, but life isn't full of such things. The facts that matter are the ones that aren't facts, and there will never be a source of these that doesn't have a slant of some sort. No one can present to you a totally clear view of the things that matter most.

Keep this in mind as you continue to age and absorbs things. You get to decide what your truth will be.

Okay, so clearly this isn't a let's-write-a-poem-now sort of thought provoker. This is a let's-think-about-these-things-because-questioning-the-world-we're-in-is-one-of-the-most-important-parts-of-being-in-it sort of thought provoker.

Oh, and a PSA: Thought Provokers will be changing their name soon. We'll keep numbering as we've been doing, starting with 8 on the next post, but just stay tuned. :)

Enjoy loveliness and remember to muse.

Absorb those truths.

Absorb them.

Then squeeze out your own. 

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