Finding Inspiration - Morning

Monday, January 31, 2011

During the last week as I've been writing and sewing & watching Jack build Lego creations....I was struck by the concept of inspiration.  How an idea forms and what drives someone to achieve big things. I know that for me I find certain people, colors, music, and artwork inspiring. Mostly things that invoke happiness- simple things really - the color yellow, Dolly Parton, strawberry shortcake, lovely fabric, Jack's stick figure drawings. 


But on another level, I really began to question what inspires me, deep down. Where can I find my spark?  It occurred to me that throughout my entire life, the very same thing has invigorated me over time and place - morning. 


photo taken by me on my mom's farm on a chilly October morning nearly 10 years ago

I have always woken up early. But above that, I've always wanted to wake up early. It was a trait that my friends didn't understand, especially on sleepovers when I would nudge them at 5am and ask to borrow a book. And it was something I'm sure my mother at one point thought peculiar. Why would a fifteen year-old wake before dawn and head out on old country roads for stretches of miles at a time?  My co-workers thought me insane for getting up at 4 to work out at the gym and make it to my classroom by 6 - but I thrived on it. 


Before injuring my knee, I enjoyed tying my laces & heading out to run. And of course, I mostly loved running in the mornings. One day in Boston, I ran so early the bustling city was still quiet, almost eerily so, and I just kept going faster and faster.... I remember thinking to myself "Here I am, running towards today!"  

There is something about the morning- the time when night has ended but light has not fully arrived when there is a stillness yet to be broken. For me, this time of day holds a certain promise & hope.  There are moments when I cling to the very idea of morning, the idea that we can all start over.  This is where I find my spark. 



so, tell me- where do you find your inspiration?



5 comments :

Tara said...

I understand your need to get up early in the morning. I do as well. I think my spark is having a house that is picked up before I go to bed, so that in the morning I have that "spark" feeling. Mind you it doesn't always happen!

Emily said...

Oh, Allisa, I love morning too! Unfortunately, I did not get the "early bird" gene from my momma:( I am a night owl over and over again, no matter how hard I try (like right now, I wake up at 5am to go swimming with my mom 3X/week, but it's SOOOO hard!). Inspiration hits me around 10pm and that's when I feel my most creative. I usually work on paintings at night.

However, it is nice to "hear" the silence of an early morning and the sunRISE can be just as beautiful as the sunSET:)

Jan said...

Love your description! Although I'm up everyday at 6, I don't think of myself as a morning person. There's a different kind of quiet at that time of day - and a very palpable sense of potential. It lifts me up!

I am a runner, too, so I can relate to early morning runs - yum! My reinvigorating, recentering spark comes from trail running with my husband. I am on such a mental/emotional/physical high afterward! Doesn't happen too much in winter, but I do other things to get 'the feeling'! I feel badly for those who don't understand how good that feeling can be - no matter where it comes from.

Lil Wildflower said...

I think I've lost my inspiration btwn running around after the 4 yr old and the 7 mo old! But thank you for bringing the idea of needing to stay connected to something inspiring that is yours only. I'm a new fan who found you on Etsy somewhere and have been visiting when I can.

allisa jacobs said...

Thank you for sharing! I love hearing how & where everyone finds their spark!