/** Font types */

Archive for the ‘Inspiration prompt’ Category

Inspiration Prompt – Connecting People Through Art

Sunday, May 3rd, 2009
Connecting People Through Art
[Photo by: Stuart Richards]

Art is one of the most intimate expressions of one’s soul. Whenever someone creates something artistic, he dives deep inside himself in search of inspiration and motivation. The artist seeks his inner creative child and the connection between the two is manifested by the artist’s masterpiece.

This artistic process is one of the few things that are similar in all people. Religion, nationality, gender, beliefs and opinions cannot alter this process. Therefore why not use the forceful power of art to connect people together?

After finding the common denominator of people all around the world – lets use it to spread love and friendship all over.

In the beautiful project “Playing For Change” people are already forgetting their differences and using music to connect – watch the wonderful video below and see it happens.

Why should we stop at music. Art can connect people in many different ways.

Share

How can you connect people together through art? Have you ever done that?

Please share your thoughts and experiences by leaving a comment on this post.

Inspiration Prompt – You Are Great

Monday, April 27th, 2009
You Are Great
[Photo by: Pardeshi]

A friend of mine linked to a bunch of inspiring videos on twitter, among which this short movie by Kurt Kuenne has appealed to me the most (shared below). Everyone needs validation. (some people less than others). How lovely it is to hear “You are great” in a way that sounds genuine and sincere. It prompts a smile and warms one’s heart. It is wonderful.

If you haven’t heard it today, I wanted to tell you that YOU ARE GREAT. Yes you are.

You might live routinely – day in and day out – without noticing how amazing you really are. Without appreciating how beautiful you are. Without recognizing your accomplishments. Without smiling. Now is the time to stop for a split second and recognize how amazing you really are.

while a smile is starting to form, the heart to warm up and widen, validate a person standing near by and looking all gloomy and blue. Tell this person how amazing he is. Make him smile. You will feel even more amazing, so will this person – and the person he’s going to validate next, and the one validated afterward.

Lets make this world filled with happy and smiling people by validating forward.

Share

Let me hear your thoughts and leave a comment on this post 🙂

Have a great day wonderful person!!!

Inspiration Prompt – Remember & Never Forget

Monday, April 20th, 2009
Holocaust Commemoration
[Photo by: Julián Lozano]

Today is the Holocaust Memorial Day. 71 year have passed and we still remember. 71 years have passed and we shall never forget.

My grandmother had lost her beloved fiance. My grandfather his wife and 5 year old daughter that was shot against his own unbelieving and crying eyes. Eyes that have seen much horrors in Auschwitz later on. My grandparents on my father’s side were expelled from their own home with 2 little babies and my grandfather got sent to a labor camp, leaving my grandmother and aunts alone.

I have recently read the book “Night” by: Elie Wiesel. I strongly recommend anyone who has not read this book before to read it and to spread the word to others. It is essential to learn and never forget the ungodly horrors which were Mr. Wiesel and my late grandfather’s awful reality for several years.

Reading the book “Night” has given me my first heart shattering glimpse at what my late grandfather, of blessed memory, had been through while walking in the valley of the shadow of death.

My grandfather had chosen to be silent and until reading this book I didn’t fully know the extent of his suffering. I still cannot fully understand, no one can – unless one sees the death in his own eyes and feel the torture on his own skin and on the bodies of his loved ones.

My grandfather had remarried after the war and started a new family. He gave life to my mother and uncle, after he had lost his 5 years old daughter who was shot and his wife who had been destined to the crematorium. When my grandfather had left the camp he weighed 83Lb. A grown man whose life were not valued because of his Jewish descent.

My grandfather had chosen to stay silent. God knows what nightmares had flooded his nights every day. God knows what sights had reemerged in front of his eyes every time he was slipping away into daydreaming. Still he had chosen to stay silent. He had chosen to keep his perpetual smile on and to always have some chocolate in his pocket to hand over to children at the park.

By reading “Night” my grandfather’s silence has been broken for the first time. I am overwhelmed with grief and sorrow and with rage.

The author of “Night”, Elie Wiesel has received the Nobel prize for peace and said we must not be indifferent for the suffering of other human beings. We must not be neutral, as being neutral only serves the oppressors. We must never forget and take a pledge upon us: “NO MORE”.

This book isn’t easy to read. It is more difficult when you know and understand it isn’t fiction but a document of recent history. It is unbearable when you know you are reading about what your own grandfather had gone through.

This inspiration prompt might burden on your day, I am sorry. Nevertheless, I strongly believe it is important to get inspired by awful memories as well. A memory of an horror that has recently occurred might keep humanity from re-occurrences…

Let us pray together a simple prayer: Our Lord, Please, No More.

Share

If you want to share your feelings and thoughts with me, I’ll love to lend an attentive ear and a supporting shoulder, just leave a comment on this post and share.

Inspiration Prompt – Observe The Beauty That Surrounds You

Monday, April 13th, 2009
Beauty
[Photo by: Josef F. Stuefer]

We are all beautiful people living in a beautiful world. Often the beauty evades us, both our personal beauty and the beauty of our surroundings. On these days we look at the blue sky and can only see a gray veil.

The blue sky, the colorful flowers, the songbirds, the fresh air, our beautiful reflection – they are always going to be there for us. They will keep smoldering and will be waiting for us to take notice.

The beauty is always there, it is our eyes that need to wear the right glasses and watch.

For this week’s inspiration prompt I urge you to take notice and open your eyes to the beauty that surrounds you.

As Ralph Waldo Emerson had put it so beautifully:

Never lose an opportunity of seeing anything beautiful, for beauty is god’s handwriting.

Share

What beautiful thing have you spot today? Leave a comment on this post and share the beauty.

Giveaway reminder

You still have a chance to enter the drawing on Creativity Prompt for a $50 GIFT CERTIFICATE to Scrapbook.com. For more details on the giveaway click here.

Update

The contest is closed!

Inspiration Prompt – Is Freedom Manifested By Choice?

Monday, April 6th, 2009

In the coming Wednesday I will be celebrating Passover’s eve. Basically we are celebrating the release of the Israelites from the ancient Egyptian’s slavery. Sadly, the Israelites were not the only enslaved people. All through history – and in the present time as well – many people are enslaved by other people.

Penal servitude is an obvious situation where a person loses his human rights, but there are so many other kinds of servitude. For example taking the right to vote or the right to obtain higher education from a person also hinders his freedom.

For this week’s inspiration prompt I would like you to ponder along with me whether freedom by itself can be enslaving? An interesting notion to get our wheels rolling up there…

In Nineteen Eighty Four George Orwell describes an extreme situation in which slavery is considered freedom. In this book it is a corrupted slogan, but perhaps some aspects of it are true?

Psychologist Barry Schwartz is suggesting that perhaps more is actually less and maybe freedom is not manifested by choice, but to the contrary. I have recently listened to his fascinating talk on TED and would like to share it with you and hear your thoughts about it:

Share –

Does choice cultivate our freedom or taking away from it? Share your thoughts by leaving a comment on this post.

Pssst… In light of the coming holiday there are plans for some more fun this week. (Has anyone mentioned a giveaway???) If you are not already subscribed to Creativity Prompt, make sure to subscribe now, so you won’t miss the opportunity to win a great prize. {Look at the side bar for the free subscription options}.

Inspiration Prompt – The Founding Power Of Your Thought

Monday, March 30th, 2009
Positive Thinking
[Photo by: H. Koppdelaney]

Our mind is extremely powerful. It has the ability to not only analyze our feelings but to found and form them as well. When we think positively everything we do satisfies and fills us with great pleasure and content. When we think that we are sorry little beings we live down to our expectation and measurement.

I am not the first to mention it. Oh no. This notion is as old as humanity itself. Greater and smarter people had taught it times and again, but still it is difficult to implement it on the everyday.

There are so many excuses for not taking this old advice. We do not want to sound vein. We do not want to raise “the evil eye“. We do not want to delude ourselves nor others. We should be realistic. It is much easier teaching about positive thinking than to actually let ourselves think positively when everything seem so negative and wrong. We live in a harsh world.

So many excuses to keep us away from happiness and self fulfillment. None of the excuses is tangible.

For this week’s inspiration prompt I ask you to take a minute and ponder about the founding power of our thought and then use it for empowerment and growth.

Remember:

“It isn’t what you have, or who you are,
or where you are, or what you are doing
that makes you happy or unhappy.
It is what you think about.”
Dale Carnegie

Share –

Have you ever experienced the founding power of your thought?
Share your thoughts and leave a comment on this post.

Inspiration Prompt – The Measure Of A Man

Monday, March 16th, 2009

The measure of a man The measure of a man is something illusive, yet we always try to capture it.

We mostly measure ourselves. With severity. We also measure the people we care about, our family and friends. We tend to measure the people we work with – our colleagues and our rivals. Sometimes we measure the person standing before us in the line or crossing the road…

There are so many things that are easy to measure with strict measurement criterions, like length, density, capacity. We pull out the tape measure or the scale or the particle accelerator (the latter would be pulled out by my father at his lab…) and come up with a simple and mostly accurate answer.

That isn’t the case when trying to measure a character.

So what is the measure of a man?

Here is an inspiring quote by Kahlil Gibran explaining how a man should NOT be measured:

To measure you by your smallest deed
is to reckon the ocean by the frailty of its foam.
To judge you by your failures
is to cast blame upon the seasons
for their inconsistencies.

Share –

What is the measure of a man? Leave a comment.

Inspiration Prompt – Healing Words Of Wisdom

Monday, March 9th, 2009
Healing Words Of Wisdom
[Photo by:
Tapperboy}
Click on the picture to read all
about the photographer’s great story

Sometimes the right words at the right time, combined with divine music, can get your tears to well up and your heart to beat faster.

Sometimes words can be healing.

It doesn’t take much to remind you what’s important and to lead you back onto the golden path. It takes a big and kind heart and an observant eye on one end and an open heart and attentive ear on the other end.

The right words let your mind wander into a serene place where everything is just a little bit better. Your burdens a little bit lighter. Your hurdles a little bit shorter and your sunshine a little bit brighter. This is where this video by Mccabe has taken me.

Sit back, relax, open your heart and watch this fantastic video:

If you recognize whose music is it, please share,
as I would like to buy this track and listen to it a million times.

Share –

I’d love you to share your thoughts and feelings with me by leaving a comment on this post!

Inspiration Prompt – Embrace Your Creativity

Monday, March 2nd, 2009
Embrace Creativity
[Photo by: alicepopkorn]

Elizabeth Gilbert, the author of: Eat, Pray, Love is talking about the basic fear every creative soul is stricken by. The fear of not being good enough. Not living up to your own success or expectations. In her talk, she is not only talking about the problem but also offers a solution.

Gilbert’s solution appeals to me so much, that I felt I had to share it in this week’s inspiration prompt. Gilbert is taking us back to the ancient Greek and Roman times, where “creativity” and “genius” were not considered human qualities but rather a glimpse of divine entities.

Embracing creativity and accepting your genius is not only humbling, as Gilbert explains, but also a great tool to take the fear and self criticism away and get focused on doing the job. Writing. Painting. Dancing.

I absolutely LOVE this idea.

Watch Elizabeth Gilbert talk and get charmed and fascinated:

Share –

How do you feel about embracing the genius? Leave a comment on this post and share your valued thoughts!

Inspiration Prompt – Give Yourself Permission To Make Art

Monday, February 23rd, 2009

We are busy people. So busy that we forget ourselves. Our passions. Our will.

Our attention is divided so thinly there is nothing left for ourselves. We are torn apart.

For this week’s inspiration prompt I ask you to give yourself permission to make art. Allow yourself a couple hours, an hour, half an hour, 15 minutes… whatever you can spare to make something creative. Be it a short story. An art journal entry. a painting. a scrapbook. A card. A sculpture. A summer dress – just give yourself the gift of time and indulge.

For further motivation, I want to share another video from my You Tube’s favorites list. This video is by: Jan Phillips:

Enjoy!

Share –

Leave a comment on this post and share your thoughts about this week’s inspiration prompt.