The Aesthetic Dimension of Inspiration and the Psychological Role of Patience

Written by: Isa Pašalić

Few human traits can compare with creativity. Alongside ethics and morality, it occupies a very important place in the hierarchy of human distinctiveness.

Most of the living world around us, from all the diversity of objects, materials, colours and sounds, knows how to use only what it needs to survive at that moment and secure existence for itself and those for whom it is responsible. This could be called existential creativity, and it does not cross the boundaries naturally set by the instinct for self-preservation and the preservation of one's species.

However, there is a form of creativity found only in humans. It is the ability to create beyond the boundaries of existence and the need for self-preservation. This is the ability to create objects, buildings, paintings and compositions from the 'material' that surrounds us, surpassing everything that limits humans in their animal instinct.

The most beautiful and purest form of this type of creativity is art. The key to art is inspiration, and all who have engaged in art are aware of the feeling that inspiration is by no means an energy under our conscious control.

On the contrary, this charge of inspirational energy we receive as a gift, and every artist is aware that it is foolish to forcibly search for inspiration. In this way, it cannot be found. When we change the paradigm of our understanding of how inspiration comes, we will realise that we never find it, but rather receive it. So, the secret of every art is actually surrender. Surrender to silence and the expectation of receiving inspiration as a gift.

In psychology, as in art, surrender at first seems contrary to logic, because human experience is characterised by the feeling that if we want to achieve something, we are the ones who must do it with our own hands, seeking the realisation of our goal in the external world. However, in the rare and particularly sensitive corners of the delicate human subconscious, surrender to something stronger and greater than ourselves represents that aspect which ultimately brings us the desired goal.

Therefore, creativity cannot be forcibly produced or created. It represents one of those dimensions of the human being that are not entirely under human control. This is also the reason why art and every other form of creativity holds a unique place in human hearts.

Every progress or success, whether in the creative or psychological field, is achieved through a simple, yet powerful human character trait: patience. For the most beautiful and fruitful success in these fields, the most important ingredient is patience.

Therefore, cultivating this virtue represents an essential step towards freeing oneself for creative and psychological success.