Deliberately Searching for Inspiration

Seeking inspiration feels dishonest sometimes, as we know that the source of the work that we’re doing wasn’t within us.

Shuffling through images, browsing articles on the internet, and flipping through pages – there are enough ways to stimulate our imagination and to come up with new thoughts.

And yet, it becomes tough to own anything that isn’t a result of a sudden and flash of inspiration.

We find it hard to call any idea ours unless its origin totally begins with us and our thoughts. The popular excuse of ‘all artists steal’ doesn’t feel justifiable.

Admitting that we found a workaround because our muse didn’t arrive despite waiting makes us feel guilty.

Instead, we picked the seed from somewhere outside, borrowed it, and planted it.

Now, if we’ve created something entirely new with our efforts by picking a speck of external inspiration, would it be okay to call that idea ours?