Something’s Brewing
“Wind’s in the EastThe Fog is rolling inLike something is brewing,About to begin . . .”
This bit of a song, from the Overture of The MARY POPPINS Movie written by Robert and Richard Sherman, and played throughout the SAVING MR. BANKS movie, has somehow always sparked my imagination. The scene it creates in my mind hints at worlds of possibilites to me. The emotion of it permeates a still picture until it crackles with an electric charge. It whispers of stories just waiting to be written.Creative muses come in all shapes and sizes and elicit different responses in everyone.During the overly-busy period in my life (which I hope will be completely over soon) my creativity was limited to how to make work, and the chores of my children, more fun, just like the Sherman brother’s A Spoonful of Sugar song “In every job that must be done// There is an element of fun.” Sometimes I did “wax poetic” spinning bedtime stories, but the grumpiness/lateness factor was often present. Why does bedtime for kids come at a time when you are just too exhausted to deal with it?Now some of my overly-scheduled life is devoted to responding to the sparks that charge my imagination.Where does inspiration to write come from? So many things seem to be touchstones for creativity, calling me to writing.Sunsets summon me! The picture up above, in Mystic Connecticut not only has color, but sailboats and ships, harboring tales of journeys.
This sunset provided color and contrast: dark branches, stiff and stark framing a riot of color surprisingly in the sky. It made a dutiful walk of the dog into a magical journey. (Picture taken by Bennett Collen)I love magic and mystery – but not murder-who-done-it mystery, because then someone has to get killed before you can solve the puzzle. More inspirational to me is the supernatural and the mystical kinds of mystery. The paranormal is interesting; I just read my cousin Tommy Taggart’s FaceBook page on all the spirits he saw when he lived at his now ex-girlfriend’s house. It seems to me, Anything is possible. With all the people we know, even just those we had direct contact with in our lives, passing into the next world, why is it not possible that some try to make contact with us?I think I just needed to be un-stressed enough to be able to see the inspiring things around me. Couple the wonders of the world with good books, providing history, insight and a perspective or even humour that I could not dream up myself, and the world is full of wonderful tales just waiting to be written.© Jane F. Collen June 25, 2015
