Inspiration

Do you know the feeling of being so captivated by beauty that you forget to breathe? This happens to me on occasion, when I’ve been completely gobsmacked by a small experience. And it changes me. Three moments of this kind of awe come to mind.

I remember visiting the Museum of Modern Art when I was a college student in NYC, moping around after my first heartbreak. I found myself standing in front of one of Mark Rothko’s Color Field paintings, completely transfixed. His color fields helped me make an energetic shift in my heart and soul - I kid you not. Those nuanced colors Rothko painted resonated with my feelings of sadness, while also evoking a sense of fullness and hope.

It happened again when I visited the National Museum of the American Indian in DC, where I took in an exhibit of traditional Native beadwork. I gasped - literally forgot to breathe for a moment - at the exquisitely detailed craftsmanship, marveling at the artistry passed down through generations. I was studying art therapy in graduate school at the time, and beadwork had become both an escape and a grounding force for me. The precision and detail I saw in the exhibit nourished and inspired my own beadwork for years to come.

I experienced this again a few years ago on a family vacation, when I saw my first sunset over the Mediterranean Sea while walking along the shore.

WHAAAATTTT?????

How could the sky possibly be red, orange, pink, and yellow all at once? I was overcome by the swashbucklingness of the colors, wanting to absorb them and carry their luminosity within me forever (unfortunately, this photo wasn’t able to capture the true range of colors in that sunset). When I returned home, without consciously deciding to, I found myself exploring the palette of that sunset over and over again.

Inspiration requires expiration, breathing something back out into the world after awe has taken my breath away. The challenge is to respond to those moments by welcoming the opportunity for creativity and transformation.

What has inspired you lately?

Dot mandala inspired by sunset over the Mediterranean Sea