Creativity and Source
What does source really mean for us?
5/1/7 | Updated 5/8/23
In Art of the Song, and in our creative lives at large, we often talk about the concept of Source.
We talk about sources for inspiration, sources for our energy, sources for learning, and even, and all too frequently for us creative types, sources for income. But what does Source, at its heart, really mean for us, and how do we recognize and nurture its role in our lives?
Understanding and honoring our own ways of finding our Source can be important for making the connections that help us grow and bloom creatively. Often, to make any sense of where we are going, we need a strong sense of where, who, and what we are drawing from to get there.
For many of us, we find Source in a nurturing physical space, such as a special studio we've set up, the home we've created, or even just a view of the mountains that fills our soul.
Others of us build our castles of creativity from a simple idea that we were struck with way-back-when, or a whole particular lifestyle we've embraced. And there is no need for it to be just one kind of Source, either. The more the merrier!
We can find our Source in places, people, music we've heard, art we've seen, books we've read, ideas, visions and even the memory of the comfort in a favorite aunt's kitchen when we were a kid. The particulars of where we, as creative individuals, feel our Source, can be interesting, enlightening,... and infinite.
The point is to just think about and understand the "where, what, who and why" of your OWN Source, and marvel at how it fills and inspires you.
Once, when I was driving up a dark canyon, returning to my beloved high mountains from a trip to a city where lights and haze almost made night into day, I noticed the brilliant night sky, heavy with stars. And I found myself thinking, "how can humans reckon the courses of their souls without being able to see a sky full of stars?"
For ME, being in a place where nature is vitally and sometimes almost overwhelmingly present is one of my most important sources. But others might find the vibrating electric energy of the very same city that I left behind to be what juices up their souls for fueling what THEY create. Jazz, for instance, does not often seem to be a rural occupation.
Source can be anywhere or anything, but it is ultimately always something that resonates with our inner creative selves. It is mostly a kind of tool for us to use to connect to our souls. And it best inspires us when we let ourselves find and explore the environments, people, and even just the kind of sheer consciousness that nurtures and grows our creative lives.
©2006 Lisa de Burlo. All rights reserved.
Lisa de Burlo lives in Taos and is an artist, designer, and musician. More