What is it that inspires our desire to create?
What moves an artist to draw or to paint a picture? What sparks the passion in a writer to pen a poem or a story? What is it that prompts a photographer to run for her camera and try to capture that perfect shot?
Here are a few things that give me continued inspiration:
1. The ocean, which surrounds me… (No surprise there, right? 😉 )
Every day, it is a slightly different colour, morphing between shades of blue sapphire, steel grey, or deep, dark navy with racing waves and frothy white-caps. On other days, it is as calm and flat as a mirror.
The sea is a living thing: mercurial, organic, merciless, and endlessly beautiful.
2. I’ve always had a passion for all animals (no, not just my cats! 😉 ).
Horses, dogs, whales, and birds…
…natural beings of the forest and untamed creatures of the sea and sky.
3. My granddaughter inspires me with her sunny smile, her boundless energy and curiosity, and her sweet innocent, loving heart.
4. My grandson inspires me with those impossibly long eyelashes, his sense of humour, his quick wit, and his infectious laughter (even when he teases his crinkly Nanny).
5. Teaching children about Nature, and why we need to respect it, appreciate it and care for it is a spark for my imagination. I love answering their many questions…
… and listening to them tell of their own experiences in the beautiful, natural world.
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Have you ever noticed how Children and Nature go so happily together?
“Children are born naturalists. They explore the world with all of their senses, experiment in the environment, and communicate their discoveries to those around them.”
~ Audubon Nature Preschool“As a child, one has that magical capacity to move among the many eras of the earth; to see the land as an animal does; to experience the sky from the perspective of a flower or a bee; to feel the earth quiver and breathe beneath us..”
~ Valerie Andrews, A Passion for this EarthDo you have special childhood memories of exploring Nature?
What fills you with inspiration? Do tell!
Jennifer's Journal 
Sound and people inspire me. Nothing sings to me like the song of rain, or the rising crescendo of a gale. And the ways they touch me, feel through my hair and clothes, these are palpable influences. But above all I am inspired by people – the man on the pavement I shall never meet or talk to, but who has his story and needs me to write it for him….
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Thanks for your take on this, Frederick. I don’t know if I’ve ever heard it said about sounds inspiring a writer, but it makes perfect sense. And yes, people above all, in all walks of life, can give us the greatest stimulus to create. 🙂
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Beautiful post, Jennifer. I love the quotes you chose and the pictures of your grandkids enjoying the sea. Wondrous and peaceful. 🙂
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Thank you, Diana. 🙂
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Reblogged this on Jennifer Kelland Perry and commented:
I’m immersed in “summer fun and frolic” mode with the kids this week, so here’s a favourite post from two years ago.
“Have you ever noticed how Children and Nature go so happily together?”
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Jennifer these images are adorable, especially the one of your grand daughter and the sea star, the detail you captured is gorgeous. The sea side is our gift, it is where we can go for some peace. The children play in the sand in the winter months and I can read. I will never tire of the sea.
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That one is my favourite too, Kath, I knew it was a keeper when I saw it on my camera. And like you, I will never tire of the sea either; the longer I live here the more it seeps into my bones. ❤
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The sea and nature are two of my biggest inspirations too – I remember exploring rocks and rock pools from a young age.
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Me too, Andrea. The sea and all of nature are perennial inspirations for many of us, as they should be.
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Beautiful pictures and sweet kids.
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Thank you, and I agree about the kids. However, I am biased. 🙂
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Beautiful photos, wonderful words, adorable grand-children.
🙂
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Thank you, Elizabeth.
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Just reading this post and seeing the pictures made me feel inspired 🙂
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Thanks for sharing that with me, Amy. 🙂
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This is a beautiful post. You took me right back to playing in the field almost opposite our house where the grass was taller than me and we would fish in the stream for minnows. We always puts them back. One day I fell right in and remember squelching all the way home!
I don’t want to sound like an old fogey but it does concern me the amount of time children seem to play on screens. Our son and daughter allow their little ones an allocated time of about half an hour a day. But when they get older and more independent, I’m afraid they will be sucked into a screen filled world instead of being outside discovering for themselves. x
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Christine, that is a memory worth revisiting. I’m glad I sparked that special time for you!
I completely understand your concern about too much screen time for kids. I worry too about that. The upside is they will be more computer savvy than we were when we were young, and they may become bloggers like us. 🙂
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Ok this took me back to the day my dad and I went to the beach and got bogged in the sand I was very young but it is still a very happy memory all these years later. As to what inspires me well my family of course but also just being alive inspires me
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Just being alive! Now that is a great attitude, Joanne. 🙂
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Jennifer, I can never get enough of your ocean pictures. Love them. My favorite nature memories as a child are the ones of snow fort building in the winter, fishing with my dad, and summer holidays at the lake. Being outside anytime of year is a gift.
Blessings ~ Wendy
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It pleases me, Wendy, that you like my ocean photos. ❤
Your nature memories sound so idyllic and beautiful! I suppose the snow memory is special because you don't always get snow out your way? Spending time with your dad: isn't it the truth that the moments spent together with loved ones are the most memorable?
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Water moves me too Jennifer, the ocean, a lake, river, stream, creek with all their critters and all. It has been like that as far back as I can remember. Every now and then I get a feeling of awe just like I did as a kid. I guess that’s living in the moment, right? ❤
Diana xo
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I hear you. Diana, living in the moment is where it’s at, and easier to do if you are outdoors enjoying nature. Watching the kids absorbed in play makes me want to play too. 🙂 ❤
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I love playing Jennifer – I used my daughter as an excuse for years to swing on the swing, slide down the slide, play hopscotch…
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🙂
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You are right, though I hadn’t really thought about it: Children and Nature are as natural as kids and dogs. Sadly, I don’t have those kind of childhood memories. My mom always said raising four kids was more than she could handle so all the extras got pushed aside. I can understand that.
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City kid, were you? I was too, but most summers we took a few trips out of town. Dad hated the city, and I think I got it from him.
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Children and nature do go together well. That’s why it’s such a shame to see schools cut out recess. Kids need to run around during the day, and doing it outside is better than in a gym. Kids who get a chance to play outside during the school day do better academically. Studies show this so it’s a shame to see the reverse happening.
Lovely to see what inspires you. I imagine a daily walk along the ocean does wonder for one’s psyche.
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I hate to be away from my home these days; the seaside has definitely grown on me.
Cutting out recess sounds like a huge step backwards in the world of education. Unfair, if you ask me. I think it must be a U.S. thing, as I haven’t heard it mentioned here. Such a shame.
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Yes, it’s probably more a US thing. And it’s not every city, but it’s a growing trend.
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Pity. I think I would have protested my head off to stop that change.
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