Everyday Canvas

Inspiring places

Prompt: Let's talk about inspiration. What place gets your creative juices flowing? Like for example: a garden. Why does special place make you feel more inspired than others?

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More than inspiration, it is always the mood that gets me to write, although I can also write on demand, I guess; however, on-demand writing is never the same as inspired writing.

As to inspiration, it depends on the circumstances and the mood I am in. Many places can be inspirational as they have different ideas to offer. A case in point, I have been, in the past, inspired by a mountainous landfill. On the other hand, I neither want to see such a sight nor write about it again.

As a place that could inspire me the most, I can think of watching the ocean from a lonely spot. The ocean because it is limitless, has depth and mystery and from where I stand I can only see the surface of it, just like people who we see and understand only on the surface. Yet, the ocean changes, just like people, with its cycle of tides, suggesting impermanence, while on the horizon it looks expansive and limitless. The ocean also is conducive to introspection and reflection into my own thoughts and complexities.

Then, mostly, in the past, which was also my inspiration, was our backyard in Long Island, NY. We had two acres of oaks and other tall trees in it. Trees always offer ideas, symbolism, and mystery to me. So I can easily say in addition to a lonely spot by the ocean, a stretch of land with trees can be an inspiration for me.

A treed stretch of land--not the land itself so much but its trees--can mirror the development, transformation, and resilience in life. Even the barren branches symbolizing hardship in winter hint at hope for the new buds in spring. They provide an excellent metaphor for our human condition through their changing colors, shedding leaves, and root systems. Their longevity is very much close to that of the ocean's.


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