Пошук натхнення (Inspiration Ignition)

Oleksandra Utkina

Inspiration...Although it a simple and well-known word, sometimes such a state of mind appears to be absolutely unattainable. Here you have already provided yourself with the most favorable conditions, isolated yourself from the surrounding, turned your favorite music on, focused on a task, but you still cannot start. Familiar situation? So, what to do in this case? 

Initially, it is crucial to realize that inspiration exists not only for the purpose of writing symphonies, scientific works, or sophisticated poems. Especially, we should not separate people into “creative” and “uncreative” as we are all creators to some extent (creators of our life, our work), seeking the ways to ignite inspiration. In fact, it is needed for every individual without any exception; this does not depend on the field of activity, profession, age, etc. This is some sort of energy which leads the way to reach the goal. It contributes to the high rise and emergence of original and innovative thoughts, decisions, products and, therefore, directly impacts human success. 

We are all born with the inspiration to live and create, and yet end up searching for it externally most of the time. Despite the uniqueness of every person, which makes it impossible to come up with a magical and universal incentive, I have several tips for finding a method of self-motivation that will suit you:  

•  Set a goal that you would like to accomplish. It ought to be exciting, achievable, and specific (in terms of the action plan, time, and anticipated outcome). Understanding what you want from life helps you prioritize and focus on the most significant steps. Remember that there are no unsolvable problems, but you always can find excuses to avoid obstacles. However, this way you will never become stronger. Be consistent and do not attempt to influence something beyond your abilities.  

• Communicate with different people because connections often allow you to gain much knowledge and experience. By paying attention to the development of others, their accomplishments are likely to become contagious. Nonetheless, avoid snobs, enviers, and whiners. 

• Try something new – drawing, music, sport, poetry, anything. Inspiration can await you in a place that you would not suspect. Consequently, enriching your worldview improves your flexibility and competence, opening even more doors to countless opportunities.  

• Evaluate and document your inner changes, comparing yourself today and yourself yesterday. Always be aware of how far you have gone. Furthermore, you should analyze your approach and progress to draw certain conclusions.

•   Notice your achievements and reward yourself. Even a small victory is still a victory.  

We often don’t notice the world around us and its beauty, chasing for something immeasurable for our whole life. Hence, look around, and inspiration will appear without excess effort! The choice is solely up to a person, you just have to start seeing where the attractive source of inspiration is hiding. If the "muse" has left you, you should not passively wait for its return; it's time to act.

我能不能做你掌心里的一只鸟 (Can I be a bird in your hand)

Eva He

Can I be a bird in your hand,

stretch my pure white body,

and press my warm heart against your palm.

When you put your stiff hand through your tangled hair,

I shall comb your hair with my supple beak;

When you put your trembling hand on your wet face,

I shall dry your tears with my soft feathers;

When you put your cold hand on your swollen knee,

I shall give you a heated compress with my warm chest.

Please tell me, the wind of night:

Where is your window? Where would it be?

I am going to fly over tonight.

Fly right into your palm.

木落在了广州 (Guangzhou)

Zoe Mantas

Long, long ago, there was a Canton in the southeast of China. At that time, the emperor

Zhou was still the mighty lord of the state, the sage Confucius was not yet born, and the ancestor of the emperor of Qin Dynasty, Ying Zheng, who unified the world, was still raising horses for the royal family of Zhou. Only, at that time, Guangzhou was still called Chuting. The name was given to Guangzhou by the ancestors to commemorate the friendship between the local people and the State of Chu.

But what kind of city is Guangzhou?

Those who study history may say that Guangzhou was called Baiyue in ancient times, and Guangzhou began to develop foreign trade from the time of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty until the signing of the Treaty of Nanjing and the rise of Shanghai, Guangzhou gradually started to lose its status as a national foreign trade center; those who study politics

may say that Guangzhou has always been calm and quiet, although it is important, it is not that impressive; those who study language may say that the Cantonese retains the flavor of ancient Chinese but also incorporates some elements of contemporary Mandarin, which is a product of the collision of ancient and modern cultures.

But these are not the Guangzhou in my memory.

Guangzhou has always had a transcendent feeling for me, making me think of it as my hometown, even if I haven't lived there for a long time. Maybe it's because I have a home in

Guangzhou, or maybe it's because I learned to skate in Guangzhou when I was three years old.

However, aside from that, I seem to have a special feeling for Guangzhou, which makes it far

more important to me than Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen, even though I know that Guangzhou is not the superior one in any respect. I can vaguely sense that there is a special place in Guangzhou that I remember that is not found elsewhere.

I think it's because Guangzhou is "old", "ordinary" and unchanging.

Beijing’s obsolescence is the solemnity and majesty left by its glorious history as a capital of five dynasties. The magnificent palace city is the witness of the city's history. The shadow of Beiping and a historical city is left in the palace, left in the royal garden, left in the hutongs. But now those places are no longer inhabited, and when you go to see them again, the most you will see are different-looking tourists and black cameras and flashing lights; when the night is late and everything is silent, these buildings, which were once glorious, will reveal a sense of sadness and loneliness. The night scene of Shanghai's Ten Mile Square has long been overshadowed by the fame of Lujiazui and its nightly light show, except for the Peace Hotel on the Bund and a few old houses still maintain the prosperity of the past. It is no longer the Shanghai where the rickshaws run around, and same for Shenzhen, they all have a new feeling. This is a sense of the new century, a new look brought by modern technology and business development. In these two cities, it seems that history is always just history, never may come to life one day.

Guangzhou is not the same.

To me, Guangzhou is the sunny blue sky in the alleyways of the neighborhood on

summer afternoons, the lush green trees, the Cantonese songs everywhere, the steaming heat of the dim sum during morning tea, the nourishing Jiig pots, and the golden glow of the sunset on

the buildings in the evening. Each of these things is not unique to Guangzhou, but together they weave the Guangzhou I grew up remembering.

There is a district in Guangzhou called Liwan District, which used to be the city center of

Guangzhou in the old days. To go from the most prosperous Tianhe District to Liwan District,

you need to take the subway from the most crowded Line 3 to Line 1, and get off at Changshou

Road after a total of nine stops. These nine stations seem to separate two different worlds. In the

Tianhe district, Guangzhou is one of the first-tier cities, with the Guangzhou Tower, the IFC, and

various shopping malls and embassies; while in the Liwan district, everywhere you look, there

are traces of the last century left to the city. The center of this district is the Shangxiajiu

pedestrian street, which covers a very wide area. There are no grand shopping malls, only a few

scattered clothing stores with a big sign at the door that says "Clearance Sale" in a crooked way.

Sometimes there’s finally a slightly taller building, but on closer inspection it's actually old and 

I don't know when it was completed. But, being old is not necessarily a bad thing. For example, in

this pedestrian street, almost all of Guangzhou's food is summarized here. There is the main store

of Tao Tao Ju, with the main store of Lian Xiang Lou just opposite it; the birthplace of

Guangzhou Restaurant, and a traditional Guangdong dessert store that has been in business since 1934. In an inconspicuous alley down the street, there may be a congee store that has been passed down for generations and is extremely well known among the locals. In such a fast-paced era, such an old neighborhood may have long been abandoned by most people, but there are always those who can appreciate it, because for them it is not just a neighborhood, but also a memory of an era.

There are many things in Guangzhou that have never changed since I can remember.

For as long as I can remember, every time we went to Guangzhou, we would buy a

steaming bag of freshly fried chestnuts from the chestnut store in front of our house; for more than a decade, this tradition has remained unchanged. There is a fast-food restaurant downstairs

from my house that has been open for an unknown period of time, more than ten years at least.

Every time I pass by, there are only a few customers, but it is a miracle that it has opened to this day. Every year, no matter what supermarkets in Guangzhou, Walmart, or China Resources

Vanguard, will always play Andy Lau's "God of Wealth" and a song I still don't know who sang

"Spring Flowers". It's as if this is some kind of unwritten convention engraved in the DNA of

Guangzhou people, giving people a very warm feeling. The actual fact is that you will be able to

find out more about the actual people that you're going to be able to get to know.

As night falls, the city of Guangzhou on the shore is once again lit up

with all the lights. I open the window, and seem to seeing the city that is thousands of

miles away in my sight; everything is still the same in my memory.

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深夜城市

Sumiki Hayashi

Broken Reverie

Jessica Ages

And each night I am reborn

in spirit and in faith.

The day's darkest ashes 

shimmer and then fade.

Dancing through my memory,

a day’s broken reverie.

Chaos breeds a spark 

lighting a raging fire.

A new fate-

awaits

As the moon sets

the day’s salient regrets,

crumble, burn then disappear.

I am alone

but I am free.

Of this day’s broken reverie.

Rise to the bright sun,

shielding me from pain.

The light blinds my vision,

it simmers cleaning my slate.

Enlightenment unchains me,

This awakening is ecstasy.

Countless opportunities await,

Infinite emotions-

ignite.