The Prepared Mind

Creativity.

Inspiration.

Two things that you need to latch on to when they appear at your doorstep. Trust me on this one.

They can pass you by quickly, on stealth mode in your daily grind. It's easy to lose sight of them, or to barely recognize that they are in your presence. But if you stay open to the world around you, stay quiet deep within, you will hear them - and when you do, you must seize them, seize the moment, free your mind, know the flow, sense it, revel in it, submit to it ... and hope that life hasn't passed you by in the meantime.

Sure, easy for you to say.

First of all, many people stroll through life feeling as though they simply aren't creative in the first place. Yes, sometimes it does require diving into the deep dark recesses of your mind to find the amazing works of art that reside there ... though that can be a painful (yet growth-inspiring) journey. And even if you "go there", then you may not know how to harness the energy that you find there. Scary stuff. You may be one of those people that simply has great difficulty being inspired to move through life unawares. But it's there, stirring in all of us - if you open your mind and your heart to it's flow.

Yes, it's an acquired task - to know the flow of creativity and to awaken to it's calling. But if you can be open to the world around you, then amazingly enough, good things happen all around you. Regularly. And when they do ... you become more confident in purposefully tapping that flow of energy and creativity.

I've learned that the inspiration of creativity can strike me at crazy times. I think it tends to be when I am on my proverbial "second wind". Perhaps this is as my mind is easing off for the day, my defenses are down, and my mind is open to chance. As Pasteur said, "chance favors the prepared mind". How true it is.

When it does arrive on my doorstep, opportune moment or otherwise, I've tried to harness it - as much as possible - because moments of great purity and beauty invariably arise from it. My most special work has come in flights of creativity - at often inopportune times - late at night, or while driving, or while working, or, well, many many times and places! They only arise, though, when the mind is open to receive them - or, as Pasteur said, when the mind is prepared.

I go through phases of creativity, as we all do, but when they strike - look out!

And lately, I have had a few of those phases ... so instead of writing, I have been creating in other media. What is the point of all of this? Well, you'll be seeing more of my recent creative adventures soon. There was a time when I would create with pen and paper ... or paint ... or photos ... or music. Now, there is this wonderful blend of digital technology (my left brain at work) and that creative element (my right brain) and they meet somewhere within the pages of this site! There will be some great new additions here as I explore the potentialities of image manipulation and FTP the Rhubarb to an upload repository (or in other words, as I sift through my digital image library, get it organized with the help of Picasa and ExifPro, and upload the whole shebang to Gallery and possibly even Flickr!).

But alas, this prepared mind is ready to sleep ... and the mental quiet of the next few hours will bring with it more beauty in days to follow - as it always has in the past. Perhaps this is what I should call the true meaning of "pasteurization" ...