Effort is a powerful force. The more we roll up our sleeves and get to work, the more likely we are to get results.
But not so when it comes to inspiration.
We can throw swaths of effort at inspiration. Exert ourselves longer. Focus our minds harder. Force our will stronger. But inspiration thrives not with a furrowed brow. Inspiration thrives with something far more receptive: NOTICE.
What do you see? What do you hear? What do you smell? What do you taste? What do you touch? What do you think? What do you feel?
Noticing means we lower our defenses. We let something in. We allow its residence in our mind’s eye. We consider it.
We submit to its effect on us.
And once we’re noticing, we realize how very natural it is. We are satellite dishes in human form. For the sensory details all around us. For the thoughts that bubble up into our consciousness. For the streams of forgotten emotion in our hearts.
If you seek inspiration, lay down your effort and notice.
Notice what you notice.
Every bit of noticing we do is an evocation for inspiration.