Someone once said the first 50 years are for learning and the next 50 years are for living.  Well, I hope I have learned everything I need because I am on to the living part of my life and I feel inspired.

Retirement came quickly for me – and yet it didn’t.  I, like everyone else, struggled and saved and talked about retirement for years.  And then when it came, it was in a hurry.  This spring I will have been retired for a year and I’m still getting used to it.  I listened to the weather last night before bed and thought about the work-week.  No, I told myself, you don’t have to go to work this week, no matter the weather.  I still have trouble with that concept.  I feel like a slacker sometimes. But by now I should have learned all I need to know to live.

And live I will.  I am inspired, and I have plans for spring.  I have book signings, festivals, workshops, and a myriad of events on the horizon.  Spring is conference season for authors; and with conferences, come contests.  I’ve been working on several things for contests.  I took a 5000-word humorous piece and cut it to 2000 words! Whew!  I hope the story is still there.  I lost a lot of scenes, and a few characters.  But there are limits to contest entries and you must adhere to them.

Conferences and contests are a labor of love.  I’ve learned how to do it, now I will live with the results.  I am grateful for the opportunity to rub shoulders with other writers and their craft.  I network and meet people and it seems the brilliance of their craft rubs off on me.  At least the inspiration rubs off.  I capture their tiny spark and cultivate it.

Learning to capture inspiration wherever you find it is a great way to live – for the next 50 years or however long I have.

How do you capture inspiration?