Divine Inspiration

One day while walking along the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina, I came across a rhododendron-covered path below an overlook -- and leaped onto it. What joy to find an unmapped trail!

Following a cascading stream down the hill, I found what I love to find -- a flat grove of trees next to flowing waterfalls where I can sit and write in peace. That's why I'm walking through these forests and mountains.

I've come to write -- about what, I cannot say. But gliding right behind me wherever I go is a feeling, a beckoning, a sense of urging or an offering being held out to me. It appeals to me very softly with no compulsion. I could resist forever if I so choose, but I want to follow its lead. I have a dream of writing -- not for any particular purpose or motivation -- but to write simply because it feels good.

One thing I truly want, very much more than anything else, is to be inspired. I want to be filled with divine inspiration. If I had one goal in life to achieve, that would be it: Divine Inspiration.

I have a sense that this is what motivates artists of paint, of wood and metal, of flute and string -- and of pen. Divine inspiration to create is their raison d-etre.

And once a creation comes forth, how do we avoid the temptation to run out in front of peers shouting, "Just see what I have created! Am I not wonderful?"

Ah, what a contradiction. No wonder divine inspiration seems to come and go -- to be overwhelming one with the flow of life to the point where it is impossible not to create -- but to then lose the divine impulse by claiming to be the source of the creation, its author, the very well from which inspiration flows.

We cannot be the well. We can only reach in for a dipperful of the divine water, touch it to our lips and be filled with the ecstasy of life and living -- which is to create -- and to create in partnership with the Divine. To imagine oneself as the source is to die of thirst, to dry up the creative flow. To think that I am the source of this wonder that has been creation -- and I shall therefore create more wonders to show the world how worthy of love I am -- that is to be cut off from the well of inspiration.

So . . . how does one hoard creations for fear of falling into this trap? Just the opposite: this world needs to be showered with the water of the well of creation. What better joy than being a co-creative partner of the Divine, dipping into the well and tossing the droplets on a parched humanity! Not to be known as a great creator, but to help lead others to the well and invite all to drink. For it is not given to a lucky few to stumble upon the well, but rather the birthright of every person on the planet -- whether it manifests as the creation of a book, a song, a poem, or an industrial revolution.

For myself, I want to overcome all these societal forces within me that look as if they're seeking to disempower me. I have to go past all those mindsets claiming it's inappropriate for me to write. It's not time. It's not the right place. I don't feel well. It's not Tuesday, etc., etc.

I bring myself to a place of natural beauty, a quiet place, where I can open to whatever is to occur with no expectations. And I pick up my pen, not knowing if what will come out is to be gibberish or great wisdom. But it feels good to write.

I watch what comes out of my head and my pen. And I get inspired as I write. Can I say that what I write comes from me? Can I say that it does not come from me? The answer to both is No. The answer to both is another question: "Who am I that is writing?" It is as if the stream wrote, the trees dictated, and the rocks whispered ideas. It feels divine. And where is this divinity if not all around me, in the hills, the bushes and the sky? I want to reach out and touch it. And it touches me back.

Divine inspiration is there for everyone. Just ask!

Burton "EarthWalker" Smith is a wanderer. He can usually be found roaming somewhere around North America, and writing about it. "I want to be a catalyst, inspiring others to follow their heart's dream, and be all they can be." He'd be delighted to hear from you. His mail-forwarding address is: 187 Paragon Parkway, #135,Clyde, NC 28721. Voice Mail: (704) 258-4839.