This is inspiration.

Today: James’s and my 3.5 years. We go on remembering the 5th of each month all the time, even if we don’t celebrate. I’m seeing him today though. It’s always been a bit of a pain trying to synchronise our university timetables in some way. With more photography projects to do this semester, I’ll probably have to spend a lot of time working outside of class. One of my subject outlines says that I’m expected to work ten hours outside of class. Yeah, that’s cool I guess. :P

People always ask what inspires me to blog or to write or to even create anything. I’ll be honest: it’s everything. It’s that moment I wake up in the morning and hit “snooze” on my phone alarm. It’s that moment that I draw the curtain and realise that it’s still too dark outside to see. It’s that moment when I get absolutely furious at someone being insensitive towards my feelings. It’s that moment I see a great opportunity to take a photo, and either fish out my camera and take it, or realise I don’t have it with me and am disappointed.

It’s the bloggers out there whose blogs I read. I read them and realise that I have connections with these bloggers. I become their friends. I feel like their words are always fresh and new and like talking to someone. There are other people out there not only who share the same interests, but some who are completely different. It broadens my horizons. It inspires me. Few times I’ve come across people who have upset me or maybe made me feel a little irritated, but even then, it inspires me. How would I know kindness and heart without idiocy?

If there’s one thing I could endlessly talk about that inspires me, it’s music. Not just music, but more specifically, guitarists. The way they can just hold a guitar and slide their fingers across it with so much love. The way they can wrap their arms around it with so much soul. It doesn’t matter what kind of guitar it is. Slung over a shoulder, thrown into a case. It’s a beautiful instrument. The care that goes into it, replacing every string, fine tuning its sound. You play acoustic, you strum gently. Bassists playing their guitar like it’s their best friend. Guitarists make a guitar their own, all the time, every time. Guitarists are able to perfect something that is an art. And I can say that for every guitarist out there. You, sitting at home, acoustic in the corner. You, with that electric guitar that’s been in your closet for so long. Kurt Cobain. Jimi Hendrix. Dave Grohl. Everyone who is gone and maybe forgotten. George Harrison. It’s about putting yourself in the music, making it yours. When I hear a guitar solo I often want to cry. Whether the guitarist is in a band or not. If you throw your guitar and smash it. But you still love it. You love it that much.

When you draw all over it. When you get everyone to sign it at high school. When you accidentally hit the bottom of it on your desk and chip off some of the paint. When you go and buy guitar picks. When you buy a new amp. When you write “I love you Jimmy” on it.

Whatever music you play, however you play it. Whether you treat your guitar like shit or never touch it. You know you love it. And you know you go walking around in your day and see something and suddenly feel like making music, but you don’t have your guitar with you.

I walk around and I see things that inspire me. Why don’t I have my notebook. Why don’t I have my guitar. Why don’t I have my camera. Why am I in a shit mood? Why don’t I have my iPod.

There’s something we’re all attached to. There’s something that holds complete meaning to us, no matter how material it is – it is material. It’s a photo. It’s your fat, ugly laptop that you’ve had for years. It’s that bag you just can’t leave at home. It’s your $60,000 car with purple wheels. It’s a water bottle you just take in your bag all the time. It’s a makeup bag, or it’s a mirror with a crack in the corner. It’s that watch you wear every day.

One day, just take it somewhere with you. Somewhere you go all the time but have never, ever stopped at. Actually look out the windows of the train instead of falling asleep. Come into class a little early, sit there and listen to the almost silence. Be adventurous. Walk out. Travel miles and miles out west. Listen to your favourite song. Sit on a rock. Look down in the valleys below. Close your eyes, and tell me what inspires you.

Comments on this post

Congratulation on your 3.5 years. :) That is a very good time length for a relationship. Bless you with many happiness and best wishes to you both for the future. Aww, my boyfriend and I do the same also, we remember every 21st of each month and normally go out to celebrate.

I learn a lot from other bloggers too, like yourself. It’s interesting when you read a post and then realise the similarities you have with the person who wrote those words. It’s also fascinating reading about another person’s life, especially someone who have never met before. I would be happy to say that readers know the blog writer very well than the writer’s real-life friends. Well, that’s the case with me anyway. Also, blogging is a great way to make new friends.

Every day lives inspire me; the overheard conversations, the events that occur and various people who may have cross my paths on the day. I think a lot, and tends to narrate my own daily journeys in my head. Sometimes, I blog about my dreams.

I can’t think of an object that I’m that attached to. I did cry when I broke my kindle, lol.

I find my dreams very inspiring. I’ve had some crazy dreams that made me wish I was a writer. My friends, online and off, are certainly inspiring as well.

Congratulations! 3 1/2 years is pretty damned good, especially for folks your age. My husband and I have been together seven years now which I think is pretty damned good, especially for people our age. :D

This is a very nice and inspiring blog post by you, I ‘m so happy you shared it with us.

I like guitarists as well. Here’s one of my favorite guitars of all time, because of the artist’s little hand-drawn stick person on it:

It’s the guitar of Alan Doyle from a folk band called Great Big Sea.

I’ve never been musically inclined myself, though.

What inspires me? Every morning being a fresh new start.

Okay, so I began writing the paragraph below:

Music is inspiring, but it doesn’t necessarily inspire me. I like to cut apart dances I watch on TV and in real life and try to do them myself. That’s the world I created. It consists of bits and pieces of dances and words and songs and stories and characteristics of the people I know… Trees surround the area, and then there are cats as well. It’s quite lovely, and that is where I go for inspiration. I love it there, and I try to visit it each time before I blog, but it’s often quite difficult. I used to go there for testing and such.

…Let’s just say it ended up being an entry, and I’ve scheduled it to post Saturday, so you’ll know then! ;) However, it may just come off as random? /faw

/ehe So … I’m hoping you’d rather me put it into a blog post versus putting about four hundred words into a blog comment, because I would feel horrible. D;

I do really like how you get inspired by just life. :P That’s awesome. I’m inspired by nature. x)

inspire me completely* (first sentence)

3,5 years,eh.. that’s amazing. /eee I think you’re the first person whom I “know” that stayed with the same guy for 3,5 years.lols. my friends who dated didn’t last that long.. lols,teenage hormonal problems I guess. XD
music has the most amazing power that gives great influence. It’s basically everywhere; during boredom, during stressed moments, whenever I’m all sad and emo… music’s powerful. (Y)
awesome bloggers inspire me too, and I grow to admire them… awesome bloggers like you for example. (H) I admire your entries, how you write… I admire you and your blog. ♥
sometimes, blogging friends are even better than real life friends /eee blogging friends understand my interests more than those real life jerks,lol

Congratulations on the 3.5 years! That’s a really long time, but, I’m sure, eventually, you guys will have been together for much longer, and it’ll seem like nothing. Again, congrats!

I find myself inspired by almost anything as well. You can look pretty much everywhere for inspiration. Sometimes, we’re just more aware of what’s going on around us. Sometimes, we just put more initiative into turning that inspiration into something else.

I get many of my blog post ideas from the thoughts that go through my head while I’m commenting on others’ blogs. Sometimes, my posts end up completely unrelated to the ‘inspiration post’, that post is still what brought me to the idea.

I’ve never really been good with instruments, though I love music. I love to sing. Singing is practically my life. While I don’t find music directly inspiring, it usually puts me in the right state of mind to be inspired.

I usually bring my phone and/or a notebook around with me to write down any ideas I may have, mostly for blogging, but, actually, I write down my ideas for anything. I find that writing these things down or perhaps capturing them as images is one of the most important things, because, otherwise, I will definitely forget it.

It really was a lovely dish. I had tried shrimps before but they were just boiled and they didn’t taste as good as they did in garlic. Now I want to go back for more!

Happy 3.5 years anniversary to you and James! Tyrone and I always remember the 15th of every month, so this month with be 1 year 10 months.

I love reading blogs and getting to know the people who write them. They do become your friends. I love it when bloggers suggest a piece of music to listen to, or a film to watch or a book to read. You really can learn a lot from them. :)

Something I regret not doing when I was younger is learning to play an instrument. Well, I did go to recorder lessons at school for about half a year and it taught me how to read music. I’m sure you get better at it the more you read it but it takes me ages to work out what each note is. My brother has a guitar that he doesn’t use and he also has a ‘teach yourself’ kit for it. I’ve been tempted to try and teach myself so many times but I really don’t have the patients. I hope I get a chance to have lessons when I go to university or something. I love music and I think I would appreciate it even more if I could play an instrument.

I always think of good things to blog about but then when I come to write it down I either forget what it was or I can’t find the right way to phrase it so it sounds interesting.

Wow I’m not sure how to respond. Your wrote this entry really nicely. It’s almost poetic.

I use to play the piano when I was in high school. It was not my choice. My parents wanted me to learn. The kind of Asian parents that want their kids to know everything and be good at everything. I never really enjoyed it because I felt forced. I stopped when I went to university. After stopping I actually learnt to love music especially piano pieces. I took the time to listen to the music and grew to understand and love it. Unfortunately I don’t have time to learn again anymore.

It is amazing that your entries are always interesting. You must seem to have something interesting to say about your everyday life. For me, it’s pretty difficult to blog about anything. I go to work then go home everyday. Nothing really happens. I can’t blog about work incase my work mates find it plus there’s nothing particularly interesting to write about.

I am the same way with inspiration. Our awesome 5 senses gives us a type of high everyday and sometimes we don’t even realize it.
A lot of things inspire me … just even hanging out with friends and my boyfriend inspire me. Just sitting in our local coffee shop chatting away about anything and everything inspires me. I love it when we are all grouped outside having our cigarettes because we are just always laughing away and I always wonder how far the sound of our laughter goes as my boyfriend tells his jokes. Sometimes it even feels like we are at some kind of comedy club and at least someone has to say, “I would pay to watch you do comedy”. Then we start having a conversation about how my boyfriend would perform in a comedy club and once again laughter starts roaring and it amazes me how one little line that someone could say starts an uproar of emotion. That inspires me.

Guitars also inspire me too. My boyfriend has played guitar since I could remember and the way he holds it, hits those strings and the even the faces he makes gives me a type of high because I can see just how full of passion he has while he plays. His has discovered recently the joy of 50’s music and has been playing nothing but Buddy Holly, Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis on his guitar. He looks so happy as he is jumping and dancing around the apartment with his guitar, flashing smiles at me as he is playing “Peggy Sue” as if he was on some stage performing for an audience. That always inspires me to learn about the type of music and have an admiration for different types of music and learn the culture outside of what I know.

I LOVE your entries. That’s why I am always coming by and reading what you writing about for the day. Sometimes you give me inspiration on what to write about because your entries are always so thought provoking!! It makes me realize that I should haven’t to care what I write about because I am writing for me and other people reading my entries is a bonus. Thank you for that!!

Also … HAPPY 3.5 ANNIVERSARY!!! It’s so sweet to hear other couples doing well and living life together happily!! I hope for many more year (and .5’s) to come for the both of you!!

This post is so beautiful, Georgina! :3 This is the exact reason why I always find it a bit irritating when people ask me what inspires me, because I can never pin-point a single thing.. Like you’ve said, it’s just everything! There’s so much stuff that we see and experience on a daily basis that sometimes inspiration just comes and we have no idea what the exact source is. It’s wonderful that this can happen, though.

I really wish I had more opportunities to just sit and look at things, but I’m always in the same places that I have seen over and over again. They can still be inspirational, though.

I don’t have quite the attachment to guitars as you do, but I do understand how inspirational music can be! I’m not one who likes to necessarily discuss and talk about wonderful music, rather I just like to keep it to myself and enjoy it XD I find it more enjoyable and inspirational that way.

Aw, congratulations on you and James’ anniversary, by the way! I’m glad you’re going to be able to see him!

When I read it I thought it was 3-5 years and I was like, erm? But then I read it correctly, ha. Congratulations! ♥ I hope you have a great time today.

I’m the same; inspiration is just everywhere. Sometimes it comes in a small package and then evolves into something big, like an idea for a character or something, or just a few lines for a poem.

I love, love, love reading other people’s blogs. If I hadn’t read your blogs, I wouldn’t know what the heck gumboots are, or even that much about Aus. I feel that from reading them and talking to you, I’ve found out quite a bit. As for American bloggers, it’s still so interesting because they’re from different states and do things differently. And those who are English, well, it’s nice to read blogs and see secondary school instead of high school (I kid, I kid). Those who live elsewhere are interesting as well – I just love hearing what other people have to say and about their lives. (Wow, that sounded intense).

Kurt Cobain. What a guy.

Music… dayum, don’t you get me started.
“You, sitting at home, acoustic in the corner” – shit, that scared the living crap outta me cause my acoustic is in the corner of my room… ahhh. I’m not great at playing but I definitely love it. I make things up on my guitar, I attempt songs that are a challenge for me and although my picking absolutely sucks (chords are definitely my strong point), the guitar is a whole new wake-up call for me. I can’t believe I didn’t use to play it… it’s such a huge part of my life now. 😏

I don’t strum gently though, ahah.

Speaking of guitar picks… I ordered some with Spongebob Squarepants characters on. (H)

My guitar seems to have a whole huge life before my dad gave it to me, scratched and with the design on it fading away. It’s from 1973, or something like that (hey. James Blunt song!) and it just seems to have this weird kind of aura of… old. I don’t know. It’s pretty beast though, and Mikey is my baby. Your Max (please say your guitar is called Max. If I’m recalling this incorrectly, I shall go and hide in a hole) is so special to you because of the signitures and the writing and the bit of chipped paint.

What inspires me? Life as a whole. Anything and everything and nothing and something.

Kudos to this post. It’s fucking gorgeous. (Y)

On a rather dampening note… I come crawling hither without the energy to return your comment cause I’m a lazy fuck. I send sincere apologies and shall now grovel at your feet. If you wish, you may smash me over the head with your darling guitar – you might get some inspiration from that, of course ;)

Take care! xx

Congratulations on being together with James for so long. :) I don’t have any peers or friends who have been in a great relationship as long as you have.

I get inspired by guitar solos and riffs all the time. When I’m listening to a Jimi Hendrix or an Ozzy song, I can feel the emotions pour out into the solos. I play my electric and acoustic guitars every night. If I don’t, I’ll have a hard time going to sleep. I just love feeling the fretboard with my short fingers and feel the body vibrate against my stomach as I pick or strum a string.

I actually just get inspired by music in general. For some reason I love watching live hard rock music performances because I can see the energy of the all of the band members bouncing around on stage, and their badass smiles and head-banging, along with a couple of bad dance moves.

Congratulations to both of you!

I’m also inspired with everything around me that’s why getting new ideas or inspirations come quite easily to me. Though working out or hiking/running coupled with some of my fave music blaring from my headphones somehow double the capacity of my brain to churn out more ideas.

I’m also inspired with your site’s design and entries :)

(It’s quite a coincidence that my latest entry and yours have something similar in subject.)

I’m going to start off with saying: Congrats on your anniversary! That’s almost as long as my friend’s, the one who was having relationship troubles. She thanks you for the comment, btw. And I love what you said about guitars. I need to pull mine out of the closet, blow the dust off it and learn how to play it. I love watching a guitarist like Suzi Quatro wail on it, watch their fingers slid across the strings. It makes my own fingers want to do the same moves.

I love, love, love this post. I was feeling kind of down today and it made me feel much better. I’ve had a rough week so inspiration has been a little dry but maybe now I’ll take some time, light some candles and meditate the anger and stress out and feel much better. Just so you know, this post has helped someone’s day. ♥ Thank you, Georgina :)

This entry is really beautiful. ♥

What inspires me to blog is the people. I love reading everyone’s stories. I like that I can broaden my horizons, talk to people I wouldn’t have had the chance to talk to otherwise. Like, you’re in Australia, and under different circumstances I wouldn’t have known of you. But now I know that you’re real and you exist, and I think that is pretty amazing and mind-blowing. It forces me out of my personal little bubble, that people actually exist outside of my own little world and they all have their own stories to tell. It’s so hard to put into words though. @_@

I usually do that when I need some change in my writing – normally fiction writing though because blog entries usually comes to me when I feel the need to do it. I carry books with me everywhere. Not sure why, I rarely read them, but when I do you could easily find me sitting in the bus way past midnight reading with drunk teens all around me, stepping off and still reading all the way back to my apartment, walking in the dark. It doesn’t inspire me, but I’m sure it inspires others. More to the thatgirlisweird but still. I like the things that aren’t as they’re supposed to be. That inspires me. Always catches my attention.

Happy 3.5years to you and James! ♥ You share the same date as that of a friend of mine. ^_^ Well, I hope you had a blast celebrating your special day. It’s always fun to look back and realize you’ve already made it really far now. Cheers to more days with James. Stay in love you two! ;)

I am part of the big crowd who always wonder what is your inspiration to blog. I like reading your blogs. They’re fun to read. I wish I can also write a lot and express more. Maybe in the future, I can evolve and write more interesting blogs. Hehe! Well, just so you know – you’re one of the people I look up to when it comes to blogging. Thank you! :)

Oh wow – inspirations. Well, music is my #1 inspiration. It’s just awesome how lyrics can scream what you feel and ignite something in you. So to kick start my day, I turn on my music player and just do my thing. It’s relaxing and inspiring. Heehee.