Seeking Inspiration & Truth (with a small "t")

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Photograph, The Journey by L. A. Vogel
from the book Creativity / The Seekers Journey
More information at www.lavogel.com/book

If we are to become more creative artists and thinkers, it is essential that we continually seek for inspiration. It is on this journey of seeking that we will begin to grow as artists and deepen our understanding as creative thinkers. However, before we begin our journey we must first acknowledge that we desire to be on a path seeking to discover and expand our creative potential. Because all action is preceded by thought, we must begin by consciously setting a course. Very few goals, if any, are achieved strictly by chance. As the French chemist Louis Pasteur remarked, “Chance favors only the trained mind.” We can achieve the necessary training by learning and seeking out that which inspires us. New discoveries begin with an educated awareness and the curiosity of “what if.”

The Seeker’s Journey isn't about reaching a destination, it's about the journey. We must avoid staying focused only on a predetermined destination, for it is this type of narrow vision that limits our growth potential. However, if we are willing to allow the destination to continually change, we will begin to walk on new pathways that weren't there when our journey began. It is on those new pathways of seeking that we will encounter original ideas and make new discoveries, which will ultimately enhance our art and deepen our lives.

If art is the result of our personal and creative expression, then we must begin to search for and develop the necessary inspiration from within. It has been said that knowledge comes from without and wisdom comes from within. So it is in this act of inward digestion that we will take the knowledge from without, turn it inward, and transform the knowledge into wisdom and inspiration for our creative process.

If it is true that deep and expressive art is the product of a deep and expressive artist, then how do we become such an artist? We become such artists by doing, living, and observing life. As artists, to be alive means we must continually engage the “whole self,” which includes the hands, the mind, and the soul. British writer, John Ruskin, declared, "Fine art is that in which the hand, the head, and the heart of man go together."

As artists we must learn to draw inspiration from all of life's experiences. Then allow our observations to incubate until the images well up to a point that they have no other choice but to spring out and be expressed through our chosen medium. When we become more reflective about life and soul, and we begin to rely on personal experiences and intuition, we are learning to live, as Thomas Moore says, “more artfully.” As we absorb life's experiences into the heart, mind and spirit, we will begin to deepen our expression and ultimately strengthen our art.

On such a journey towards living "more artfully" as seekers are faced with the dilemma of discernment, choosing what is true and/or right. Our search for creative inspiration will result in the discovery of an abundance of information, some of it comforting, some of it familiar, and some of it uncomfortable. We are sure to find information and opinions which conflict with our personal philosophies. It is in this very conflict where we begin to question which information is best suited for our needs; what is true and what is valuable. The issue of discernment is something that we all encounter in our daily lives and although we sometimes avoid making choices for fear of making the wrong choices, ultimately we must make decisions in order to move forward.

Although we do have the option to accept or reject any new incoming information, we must also be willing to seek with an open mind. It is with this type of open-minded seeking that we will discover many new truths, even though we may never find the “Truth.” Philosopher, Martin Heidegger describes truth as, “....the freedom of letting things reveal themselves as they are.” However, he points out, “When anything is revealed, other things are concealed.” Heidegger also believed, “The best place for us to get a glimpse of the truth is not necessarily in what we know, but at the edge of what we know.” So in this sense we begin to see that the truth can be ever changing. The Russian painter, Kandinsky spoke about the truth as, “It [the truth] suddenly looked to me like a slowly moving snail that scarcely seems to leave the spot and draws behind it a slimy trail, to which shortsighted souls remain glued.”

As seekers and artists the most important thing we can do is to continually explore the unknown, always asking questions and gathering new information. As we do this we will continue to grow and change. Therefore, we will never be left standing at the familiar edge of what we know now, but we will continually grow and discover many new truths based on the knowledge gathered at the ever changing thresholds of our journey. We are seekers, and for the seeker the truth is ever changing.