Poetry in Motion: The Art of Hearing Inspiration When It Calls
A Moment of Inspiration
Something interesting happened to me Saturday. It was raining and I was listening to this really beautiful music called Simplicity. It’s a collection of soothing flute sounds, very beautiful and very relaxing. Anyway, I was listening to this music while looking out the window watching the rain pitter-patter down. It was one of those, you know, all day slow rainy days, the kind that makes you contemplative and want to just watch the rain.
As I watched, I noticed how the leaves seemed to dance to the music in a slow rhythm, it was very poetic actually. When I realized how the music plus the rainy scenery was putting me in a meditative and relaxed mood, I thought, “It would be real nice to capture this moment somehow.” And with that, a new inspiration was born! As crazy as it seemed at the time, I went and got the video camera and a plastic bag. I know an inspiration when I see one! I tied the plastic bag to the camera, grabbed a coat and went outside in the rain to try to capture what I saw through the window!
It was really interesting. In my back yard there was beauty all over the place, mostly in the simplest things. Now let me tell you, my yard is a mess, there are toys everywhere and the deck is 15 years old and is basically faded and falling apart. We call it a rustic look. Everything is worn looking and gray. But in this worn messy yard was tons of beauty.
I don’t know what it is about the rain, the way it brings out the beauty in things, especially wood and plants. But I started filming these simple things like, a nail coming out of the deck, a piece of bark on a tree, a leaf collecting rain drops, water coming out of a broken gutter, the pitter patter of water in a puddle on the worn deck, the sway of plastic butterfly light ornaments in the wind, the star on an old broken bird feeder.
When I would focus the camera real close up on these simple objects, a hidden beauty would be exposed. I was hooked! There were all kinds of beautiful things hidden in my back yard! I felt compelled to film it all and as I found one piece of hidden beauty more would appear! It was like, the fact that I recognized the beauty gave me the awareness to see more, till the whole yard was bursting with beauty! I could not film enough!
After spending hours in the back, in the rain, filming these mundane wet simple things, I came in and played the video with the sound turned all the way down. I got the same flute music, played it along with the video and it worked! The experience was the same! I had captured that poetic experience I had on the bed looking out the window!
It’s mostly the music, if you look at the video without the music you feel like it’s just a video of stupid things but when put to the music it transforms the video into something more. It’s like the music pulls the beauty out and exposes it to you. The only way I can describe this phenomenon is that it feels like when two similar notes are played and they resonate creating a third sound. That’s what it’s like, it’s like the music was resonating with the video and creating a third experience that was neither music nor video. It felt very much like poetry. There was the music, there was the video but together there was something else that was beyond both, that was both beautiful and indefinable, a kind of poetry-in-motion.
The Four Principles of Inspiration: Your Gateway to Purpose
This simple story illuminates something far more profound than just a creative afternoon. Inspiration is not merely a pleasant mental state—it is the very language through which your purpose speaks to you. It is the sacred bridge connecting your conscious mind to the infinite creative force of the universe itself.
As I’ve explored in my previous essays on The Dream Warrior‘s Path and Purpose, learning to recognize and honor inspiration is the first and most critical skill of the Dream Warrior. Without this fundamental ability, we remain disconnected from our authentic path and true passion.
Inspiration is not just about creating art or having good ideas—it is the spiritual umbilical cord that nourishes your dreams with divine energy. Each inspirational nudge is a cosmic invitation, a thread in the tapestry of your unique contribution to the world. When you learn to listen to these whispers, you align yourself with forces greater than your individual consciousness.
This story reveals four fundamental principles that can transform how we interact with inspiration and, by extension, how we fulfill our deepest purpose:
1. LISTENING: The Essential First Step
Nothing can happen if we don’t actually listen and hear the creative spirit of inspiration.
This is the most critical principle of all. In our noisy, distracted world, the delicate whispers of inspiration are easily drowned out by the cacophony of daily demands and digital notifications.
Listening requires cultivating silence, both external and internal. It means creating spaces in your life where inspiration can find you—moments of stillness, contemplation, and receptivity. Had I not been in a quiet, receptive state while watching the rain that Saturday, the entire experience would never have unfolded.
Listening isn’t passive—it’s an active practice of attunement. It means developing the sensitivity to recognize when something is speaking to your soul rather than just your mind. The difference between someone who lives a purpose-driven life and someone who merely exists is often simply this: one has learned to listen for and recognize the voice of inspiration when it calls.
2. ACT: Take Action When Inspiration Strikes!
Inspiration doesn’t wait for convenient timing. When that inner spark ignites, we face a
choice: act immediately or let the moment pass. For us dreamers, living our purpose successfully begins at this pivotal decision point, transforming inspiration into meaningful reality.
Notice how many voices might have intervened:
- “This is pointless.”
- “How will this ever make money?”
- “Someone else has probably already done this better.”
- “There are more important things you could be doing.”
- “You don’t have the right skills for this.”
- “You don’t have time for this.”
Children don’t entertain these doubts—they simply follow their curiosity. The secret is to act with childlike immediacy, focusing on the present rather than worrying about future outcomes.
Do what you can, with what you have, where you are, today!
3. PLAY: Create with Curiosity
Our culture often separates work from play, suggesting that serious accomplishment
requires serious demeanor. But true innovation emerges from a playful spirit—experimenting, exploring, and following curiosity of inspiration without predetermined outcomes.
I wasn’t executing a business plan but “playing around” with interesting visual elements. This state of playful engagement allows us to discover connections and possibilities that strategic planning might never reveal.
4. JOY: Let Enthusiasm Be Your Guide
There’s a profound difference between creating from joy versus creating from fear. Joy provides sustainable energy that fear can never match. I wasn’t motivated by deadlines or external validation but by genuine excitement and fun!
Contrary to common belief, joy doesn’t indicate a lack of seriousness or commitment. Some of our hardest and most productive work happens when we’re in a state of joyful flow. Joy isn’t merely a pleasant side effect—it’s the fuel that powers inspired action.
I tell people all the time about joy and play being the key to inspiration, but in our dead serious society, they can’t see how playing and having fun could possibly get them anywhere. But in reality, joy and fun are the true keys. It was joy that gave me the energy to act on the inspiration. Joy is the energy that will allow you to put your heart into something in a way that fear never can and never will.
And if you’re not doing it for fun, you’re doing it out of fear. These are the only two choices. And fear is the bad choice because doing something out of fear, no matter how justified, will never get you to the happiness and fulfillment you ultimately seek.
Learning to Listen
Inspiration constantly broadcasts on frequencies many of us have stopped tuning into.
Next time you feel that quickening of curiosity or subtle excitement about an idea, pay attention! These feelings aren’t distractions—they’re invitations.
That moment of heightened aliveness might be a door opening to possibilities you’ve never imagined. The question is: will you walk through?
Your next inspired action might seem small, even silly at first glance. It might look like filming raindrops on a dreary afternoon. But following these subtle nudges of inspiration is how extraordinary journeys begin.
So the next time you feel a little curious about something, pay attention! When you feel yourself getting excited or more alive about something, pay attention! Don’t write those feelings off, you never know, they could be a door to a new inspiration that could change your life – forever!
Next time, remember, walk through the door!
The world needs your unique expression. Are you listening?
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