Divine inspiration

"A good piece of art should inspire you to do it yourself."

- Stan Ridgeway

That's one of the things I love about good art....the feeling I get when I see something so amazing, so well done, so inspired, that I get this undeniable urge to attempt to create something even a fraction as good.  And it can come from unexpected sources...sometimes it's a song on the radio, sometimes it's watching a dance piece, sometimes it's a musician's live performance, sometimes it's an article in a magazine or a story in a book, sometimes it's a TV episode or a movie....but tonight it was church.  

I had the slightly unusual experience of having the majority of my technical dance training done through my church.  So the idea of associating creativity and inspiration and art with God was something that I simply took for granted.  (I'm not going to get into the whole thing about the difference between being a Christian artist, and being an artist who also happens to be a Christian...that's a whole other point and a whole other can of worms)  My point is that it's been a very, very long time (as in I don't actually remember the last time) since that feeling of inspiration and the drive to create that I get from good art, came from anything specifically related to anything spiritual.  But tonight during the worship after the message, I got completely lost in just hanging out with God.  And then at some point I got this antsy, almost hyper urge to create.....anything.  I wanted to dance, and draw, and write, and....I don't know, sculpt (though I've never sculpted in my life).  I even for a brief moment considered driving 40 minutes to the studio to go dance.  

I don't want to loose that feeling.  That creative drive, the ants-in-my-pants urge to make something amazing is what I need to motivate me.  I keep getting caught up in the logistics of trying to start a company.  I keep thinking, I need to lay out my 5 year plan and 10 year plan and look for sponsors and recruit dancers and get rehearsal space and and and....I mean, I do need to do all those things, but if I loose inspiration then there's no point to any of the logistics.

The dictionary definition of the the word "inspire" is:
to fill with an animating, quickening, or exalting influence; to produce or arouse; to fill or affect with a specified feeling; to influence or impel; to communicate or suggest by a divine or supernatural influence; to prompt or instigate; to give rise to, bring about, cause; to infuse or to breath life into.

For some reason I don't really feel as anxious about all the details as sometimes I think I should.  Maybe some part of me is more mature and trusting than I think....but I kind of feel like if I will be faithful to stay inspired, and continue to trust the place I'm in and the provision that has already happened, then the rest of everything will come.  And obviously I don't mean I think I should just spend all my time dancing around my apartment and sponsors will magically find me to give me money or anything like that...but I so have a tendency to get lost in the planning and the details, that what I need to do is remember and trust that what I'm called here to do is so bigger than me.  

Soooooo I think what I'm gonna do now is put on some good music, find my sketchbook, maybe make some hot chocolate, and create something.