“All serious daring starts from within.”      Eudora Welty

“The grass is greener on the inside.”   Dot Reeder, retail store

“Inquire within” – I once met a tall, red-headed young man who was a devoted yoga student who and sported a T-shirt with these words emblazoned on it. Inquire within: Every once in a while, this fellow pops up into my head and reminds me to do exactly that.

Yes, as writers, being outward bound is important in fueling our creativity. Reading. Engaging in conversations and even eavesdropping on them. Taking ourselves on “Artist’s Dates,” as Julia Cameron  recommends in The Artist’s Way (see post, Artist’s Dates and visit http://juliacameronlive.com/). All these activities can help nourish and replenish our creative wells and enrich our writing.

But so does inquiring within. Even in the rush and tumble of our daily lives, when we take time to do this, our work benefits. When we inquire within, we give our inner resources a chance to blossom in so many ways, large and small:

When we inquire within, we can reconnect with the sense of purpose that first animated a project that we’ve embarked upon.

When we inquire within, we take time to listen to our inner promptings, the still, small voice inside – our intuition.

When we inquire inside, we ignite our ingenuity. We tap into our own unique wellsprings of creativity and fresh, new, engaging ideas rise up to greet us.

When we inquire within, we find the courage to persevere, to keep going, to write on, in the face of the inner and outer obstacles we face.

When we inquire within, we find the will and the drive to bring our work to completion, no matter how challenging the home stretch is.

“Inquire within” – advice to ponder and apply as we all write on!