Without inspiration, there is no creativity. I have a folder with photos I’ve taken, ones I think might inspire me to paint. This one, I took awhile ago, reminds me of what I’m working on right now, writing my grandmother’s memoir.
This feather was dropped by a seagull in our garden, a present for me to consider.
Stories that are left behind are like feathers.
As I write about my grandmother and her family’s evacuation from her province of Volyhnia in the Ukraine (then a part of Russia in 1915) I am in awe of what she did and how she managed. Finding the details helps me appreciate the millions of people everywhere, regardless of color or religion, who have to move at a moment’s notice because of war. How do they do it? Where do they find the will? How are they inspired to keep going and keep their dreams alive? My grandmother had faith.
You caught my attention with the photo! Like you, I often look to photos for inspiration, whether for writing or painting (although I haven’t done much of the latter in recent years).
“Stories that are left behind…” So many important stories like your grandmother’s are waiting to be discovered and shared. Left behind for us to witness their strength, their faith, their solutions.