Tapping into your inspiration reserves

Anybody can meditate in the mountains.

Reaching enlightenment while the world around you is serene and inspiring and clean isn’t much of a challenge.

The real test of inner peace is whether you can transform yourself into a force of calm in a time of turmoil. Whether you can attain mental stillness and physical relaxation in the face of impending chaos or, worse yet, overwhelming monotony.

I once spent two weeks sitting on jury duty. The courtroom was cold, ugly and harsh; and the deliberation room was stuffy, cramped and boring. Not exactly an inspiring environment to stimulate my creative juices.

But I didn’t let that stop me from doing my work. After all, meaning is made, not found. And it’s our responsibility to take control of our lives and make the most out of our environment, instead of allowing circumstances to dictate our happiness.

And so, I brought a briefcase full of work to do, books to read, projects to start, upbeat music to listen to and other tools to maximize an otherwise dreary experience. During our many recesses, I setup my portable creative environment and found a way to thrive while the rest of the jurors whined and fumed and napped and bemoaned their fate and allowed the situation to gnaw away at the foundation of their serenity.

And during those two weeks, my days were filled with joy and meaning and energy and productivity. I even learned a thing or two about the judicial system.

But only because I was intentional. Only because I tapped into my reserves to create inspiration where none existed.

It’s like my yoga instructor always says during class. This is just practice. The real work is taking this yoga out into the world. It’s one thing to relax in a studio, it’s another thing to relax in the middle of rush hour traffic.

And so, whether you’re trying to meditate, or whether you’re just trying to create, don’t expect the environment to do the work for you.

How quickly can you tap into your reserves when meaninglessness comes crashing in?