Inspiration, Where For Art Thou?

I get myself in quite a lather from time to time about inspiration, or the lack thereof. If I need a kick in the inspirational rear end, I listen to Johnny Cash. If he doesn't inspired you to attempt something, I don't know what will. I guess it's just his attitude - it's pretty laid back; he picked up on an idea and ran with it. This late and great country music icon crossed a lot of aesthetic boundaries well. He variously recorded with Bono, Trent Reznor, Fiona Apple, Lindsay Buckingham, and his work with the Highwaymen is classic. No wonder I get inspired. Listen to "Cash Unearthed," a 5-disc work chornicling some then-unreleased outtakes and more from the American Recordings sessions. His acoustic guitar and vocals are the essence of the sublime. This set may set you back some dollars, but it's money well spent. I'd rather have better stuff in my collection than a hodge podge of junk any day. Junk this ain't.

In that regard, I have a recommendation today for anyone struggling with the inspiration flow; for that person who is trying to put concise words and thoughts down either on paper or in cybserspace - get your inspiration from the Masters - those persons whose work motivates you to get out of a chair and get busy - no, you don't have to be that person, you don't have to imitate everything they do - just do what you do pushed along by individualism realizing that what you do is unique, your form of artistic expression be it music, writing; choose your passion and find someone doing it. What is it they do and why do they do it they way they do? What do you want to do and how will you present your particular passion?

Listening to Cash last night before retiring sort of mellowed the day out and reaffirmed my passion - it put some things in perspective, a rather "holy" one at that as I listened to some old hymns of the church as only Cash in his final days could render them - honestly. And that listening caused me to settle myself, focus, and go from there. Communicating ideas, not neceessarily "truth" in the strictest sense of the word, is what I like to do best. A challenge to conventional thinking, not converting someone to see it my way, is always my first pick of things to do. In doing so I might see or at least consider something that previously just sort of went in one ear and out the other. In short, I might see life from another vantage place.