Where do we find inspiration?

Where do we, as a modern society, find inspiration? People will give you many clichéd responses to this question, "in every day life", "the great outdoors" and "love, heartbreak, personal experiences, etc", but I beg to differ. I will admit that these play a role in getting the juices flowing, but they won't deliver your masterpiece. I have always struggled to answer this question and I recently had one of those moments, you know, the one that switches a light on inside, creating order in the chaos.

This happened during "Under The Great White Northern Lights" when Jack White said, "Inspiration and work ethic, they ride right next to each other. I mean, not every day you’re going to wake up and the clouds are going to part and the rays from heaven are going to come down and you’re going to write a song from it. I mean, sometimes you just get in there and force yourself to work and maybe something good will come out of it. " 

I've never thought of it like that. I've never connected being inspired with hard work, but it's true. It's the way I work and I needed someone else to point it out to me because I could never place my finger on it. (It did make me feel a little stupid to be perfectly honest) I have to sit down, put some music on and make myself write. Occasionally it'll work, other times it won't, but when I get it right, I can feel it, and when I don't, well, I move on and just try a little harder next time.

So when you feel like being creative, don't wait to feel inspired, just sit down and force yourself to create, the result will be something original. Regardless of what it is, a sandwich for your boyfriend, a song, a poem perhaps, the medium is irrelevant, but force yourself to create and the results may just astound you.

Rick.

Over.