This post was inspired by Elizabeth Gilbert’s ‘Big magic: Creative living beyond fear’.

Inspiration is a brilliant thing. It comes as and when it desires, but when it does, it booms in a quiet voice. When inspiration erupts, it can be persistent and unrelenting. Other times, it’s urgent and passes as quickly as it arrives. Simply put, it does what it wants – unrestricted and independent. It sprouts in the most unusual ways and places. Just like anyone else, inspiration has struck me in numerous ways.

Let me share a few with you.

Conversations with friends

“The meeting of two personalities is like the contact of two chemical substances: if there is any reaction, both are transformed.” — Carl Jung

These conversations are mostly random conversations where an idea is sparked by something they say. I’ll usually pause for a moment and think, “Did you just drop a life lesson in our conversation about tortoises?” or “Did you just hand over the answer to the idea that’s been causing my sorrow?” Recent conversations with two of my friends reminded me of something I needed to be doing.

• Books
This year, I’ve given more attention to fiction instead of my usual self-help books, where I’m often looking for quick solutions to issues that need to be handled delicately. My first book of the year was Anxious People, and that book was so uplifting in a humorous way. I’ve read several other novels that have been quite inspiring, though the feeling doesn’t always last long.

• The Mundanities
Sometimes inspiration strikes out of the blue – like having a thought while in the bathroom or sitting in a trotro on the way home. The sad part is when that inspiration slips out of your hands before you can record it.

I’ve often drawn inspiration from the mundane. In my defense, I didn’t experience much of what people considered miraculous. The ordinary was what I was used to. I’ve received insights from just about anything – rainfall, a conversation with a friend, a song. It’s always a beautiful thing when I experience this random surge of encouragement and inspiration from the ordinary stuff. It feels like magic, and in that instant, the ordinary becomes miraculous.

I believe my most profound source of inspiration is the small moments that are easy to overlook or dismiss.

“Inspiration is everywhere, and often, it comes in the most unlikely ways.” — Yoko Ono

• Tough Times
Who hasn’t crawled out of hardship by clinging to inspiration? I’ve found inspiration in difficult times because, without it, I might have been buried alive.

• New Environments
I really understand why people utilize the power of new environments – they give you a different perspective on things, especially if there’s a stale old problem. I love travelling (well, I think. I like the idea of it and wish I went on more trips) and find it quite therapeutic.

Inspiration doesn’t come on a schedule. It sneaks up on you in the ordinary, shows up in tough moments, and speaks through the people around you. It’s not something we can chase—only something we can stay open to, wherever it decides to find us. As unpredictable as inspiration may be, we can’t force it; we can only wait for it.

May we stay open to inspiration.