Goodreads asked George W. Kaufman:

How do you get inspired to write?

George W. Kaufman How do I get inspired to write?

To answer that question I need to address a larger one. How do I get inspired? By that I mean how do I get connected to my own life, to my interconnectedness with people, to spirit?

So often I am involved with the small stuff – the daily tasks of living – that I lose the energy within each action that gives it meaning. I miss connections with people I meet, my writing becomes dry and plodding. I am simply going through the motions. I recall a phrase that has become popular in todays political world, “I am not telling truth to power.”

In those moments, there are signals loud and clear being directed to me. Those signals are information that my connection to life is blocked. It’s not just showing up in my writing – it is showing up everywhere. At those times I need to look at those places in my life where I have withdrawn from living with purpose. I need to read poetry, books that embrace life (see works by Thich Nhat Hahn or Mark Nepo), reconnect with friends, or find ways to be of service to others.

If you are a writer – write. What you write is less important than your commitment to the process of writing. The more you write, the more that nuggets of wisdom will show up. Eventually you will find flow. Flow emanates not just from the act of writing. It emanates from all the ways you engage with life. Writing becomes just one path to engagement – to spirit – and is a signal that your interconnectedness with all life is fully engaged.
How do I get inspired to write?

To answer that question I need to address a larger one. How do I get inspired? By that I mean how do I get connected to my own life, to my interconnectedness with people, to spirit?

So often I am involved with the small stuff – the daily tasks of living – that I lose the energy within each action that gives it meaning. I miss connections with people I meet, my writing becomes dry and plodding. I am simply going through the motions. I recall a phrase that has become popular in todays political world, “I am not telling truth to power.”

In those moments, there are signals loud and clear being directed to me. Those signals are information that my connection to life is blocked. It’s not just showing up in my writing – it is showing up everywhere. At those times I need to look at those places in my life where I have withdrawn from living with purpose. I need to read poetry, books that embrace life (see works by Thich Nhat Hahn or Mark Nepo), reconnect with friends, or find ways to be of service to others.

If you are a writer – write. What you write is less important than your commitment to the process of writing. The more you write, the more that nuggets of wisdom will show up. Eventually you will find flow. Flow emanates not just from the act of writing. It emanates from all the ways you engage with life. Writing becomes just one path to engagement – to spirit – and is a signal that your interconnectedness with all life is fully engaged.

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