Inspiration is a Pandemic Casualty

A co-worker once told me that inspiration is unnecessary for writing. Offering himself as a prime example, he listed the number of online articles he submitted day after day, without fail. No subject was beyond his reach and for the right amount of money, he would even write on questionable topics. Well, I couldn’t help but disagree because I need inspiration to write just about anything.

[One of the few exceptions is the bio-data form I need to fill out at a doctor’s clinic.]

This is the main reason why I lasted only a few weeks in the business of writing online articles for money. While I am more than happy to earn from writing, the act of producing soulless content is just something I cannot stomach.

Now before you get turned off by what seems to be moral posturing, hold on. I’m not here to debate the merits of such people or articles because there are other writers and websites better suited for such a task. What I am here to do is discuss another casualty of this COVID-19 pandemic – inspiration.

Lockdowns equal Lockups

Thanks to my love for reading, I have developed a very vivid imagination. However, imagination isn’t inspiration. For the latter, I get it from interacting with people and participating in activities. Basically, I live life in order to find something to write about.

[Oops! Maybe I shouldn’t have mentioned that as people will be careful around me now!]

Inspiration can come from just about anyone and anything. It could be from listening to the many exciting and boring adventures my friends underwent. It could be experiencing great and lousy service from hotels I stayed in. It can even come from something as simple as watching a movie at my favorite theater as I struggle to understand the plot, enjoy the dialogue, and become infected with the audience’s reactions.

[I’ll tell you, nothing is more fun than being part of the collective response of movie audiences.]

This quarantine lockdown has done away with all of these. I don’t get to see my friends in person anymore, I don’t get to visit hotels at all, and I certainly have not seen a worthwhile movie in the theater since that last superhero film!

Sure, I still interact with my friends through social media, but it isn’t the same as meeting them face-to-face. A more relaxed quarantine level has opened up hotels to visits, but the threat of more deadly variants has replaced their easy going ambiance to one filled with worry. And while I can binge watch my favorite movies online, being alone in a room robs me of the experience of being swept up in audience reactions and emotions.

I won’t be the first to say that life has changed drastically because of this lockdown. But if a bleak future sees us extending the longest lockdown in the world even further, I cannot help but feel that this is becoming more of a lockup than a lockdown.

Now before you point an accusing finger at me for ungratefully complaining about the lockdown from the comfort of my couch, which happens to be very soft yet supportive by the way, I am not complaining at all. I accept the science and need for a quarantine lockdown. I am merely lamenting the loss of sources of inspiration due to this prolonged isolation.

I have tried just about everything: reading more books, chatting with people I don’t even like through social media, checking out the write ups at Travels and Resources and Please Pass the Ketchup, and adding television series to my video repertoire. I have even switched from salted pan-popped popcorn to microwave popcorn swimming in butter, but the well of inspiration continues to be dry.

It’s gotten to the point that I am now thinking of getting a puppy so I can write about its adventures and misadventures as I raise it into adulthood but one of my fellow writers has already gotten dibs on that.

[Then again, you can’t have too many puppy stories, right?]

So where does this leave me? Frankly, I don’t know as I’m all out of… wait for it… inspiration.

[Hah! I’ve been waiting to insert that line for the longest time.]

 

Final Thoughts

On a serious note, this prolonged lock down has taken so many lives and destroyed much more already. Those whose lives have been affected have to face unempoyment resulting in financial difficulties which, in turn, has led to emotional and psychological problems.

In my case, a once mild-mannered person has turned into a grouch. But like many, I try to cope by staying busy – house chores, reading, and the occasional walk when it is safe. However, doing the same thing over and over again gets old and I find myself slipping back to negative behavior. Hopefully, governments all around the world get to finally deal with CoVid-19.

Perhaps when things improve, life can go back to what it was before this pandemic hit. And while I certainly will be looking at things differently after this lockup, I welcome the opportunity of going back to a world of inspiration.