What Inspires Me | a collab with Ella Marie

Hey guys,

I have a rather simple post for you today. It’s a collaboration that I’m doing with Ella Marie, to answer the question – what inspires me? If you don’t know already, Ella has dedicated her blog this month to collaborate with other bloggers. So when I reached out to her about collaborating, I was so happy she had a spot left! Be sure to go check out her blog too, because she’s answering the same question.

And now, my answer. . .

What inspires me is a really broad topic because I have found inspiration in just about every place you can imagine. This world is full of things that can spark ideas, so I don’t think that you can confine inspiration to a box and say, this is where inspiration comes from. If you’re open to it, you can find it.

That said, all the things I mention below are pretty common. I’m willing to bet they have inspired you too. But just because we all get our inspiration from the same place, that doesn’t mean that we all get inspired from exactly the same thing. I might be inspired by soundtracks, but you might be inspired by opera singing. So. . .there will be a few links to things that have personally inspired me, and hopefully if you get the chance to check them out, they’ll inspire you too.

 

conversations + people.

If you know me at all, you know that I adore conversations. And so a lot of my life/blogging ideas are fueled by the kinds of conversations I have – with my dad, with friends, with friends online, with myself (yes, I talk with myself. who doesn’t?)

I also want to say that blog posts are a form of conversation too. Blog posts are one of my biggest sources of inspiration (especially for this blog), and I want to thank all my blogger friends for spreading ideas and inspiring me.

you’re the best.

 

music.

Music inspires me, period. Music is such a universal thing, that it’s almost like, “duh, of course music inspires people.”

My favorite music right now is:
– The Imitation Game & The Danish Girl || Alexandre Desplat – He’s my favorite composer right now.
– The Greatest Showman – particularly “Million Dreams,” “From Now On,” and “The Other Side“

 

visuals + aesthetics.

The visual world is broad, so I’m going to focus on just two aspects of it: the part that inspires me to write, and the part that inspires my life.

the part that inspires me to write: this involves creating Pinterest storyboards, and settings, and character faces. I find this especially helpful for when I don’t feel like writing. I just scroll through my storyboards and most of the time I come away with an idea. I also love creating storyboards for movies and books, just because I love making beautiful things.

the part that inspires my life: this can involve anything visual – Pinterest, film, notebooks, handwriting, websites, succulents, baby goats. Seeing something well done, and visually aesthetic, just feels good and makes me happy.

 

sermons

This is a big part of my life. I love listening to sermons while I’m working outside or cooking or cleaning my house. Sermons inspire me to think differently about the Bible and theology – in ways I haven’t before.

I listen to:
– Rob Bell – sparingly, but also there are so many good ones from him that I don’t know where to start
– Eric Ludy – not exactly “sermons” but definitely inspiring.
– Bill Cloud – this one is so so good.

 

non-fiction books.

I feel as though I should mention that all books inspire me at some level. But to say that all books inspire me is the same as saying that music inspires me – it’s redundant. I want to particularly focus on non-fiction books because although they are a bit harder to appreciate, they are just as helpful for inspiration.

Some of my favorites are:
– The Sunflower || Simon Wiesenthal
– Man’s Search for Meaning || Victor Frankl
– Unbroken || Laura Hillenbrand
– The View from the Cheap Seats || Neil Gaiman
– The Creative Habit || Twyla Tharp
– Braving the Wilderness || Brené Brown – actually, you should go read everything she writes

 

one last thing.

Ella suggested that we make a personal aesthetic board for this post, and I totally agreed (we share the same love for visuals). So. . . here’s mine .

just looking at this inspires me.

 

hope your day is lovely.
k.

postscript #1 – all collage photos are via pinterest,
I do not own any of them.

 

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|| Let’s Have a Conversation ||

What’s been inspiring you lately?