Seeking inspiration

Just under three years ago, I published a post entitled “Getting the juices flowing.” A more apt title would have been “Getting the CREATIVE juices flowing,” as the post was really about the part played by alcohol in getting one's “creative juices” flowing, especially when it comes to writing.

I used the example of American writer, Ernest Hemingway, as the perfect illustration of this, and the experiences he recounted of the time he spent in Paris, during the years 1921-1926, when he was a young, penniless and virtually unknown writer. Hemingway recalled a world of boozy and leisurely lunches and long café nights, and of hanging around in bookstores to escape the cold and windswept streets outside and of writing long into the night.

Drink, and often rather a lot of drink, played a significant part in the lives of Hemingway and many of  the writers and artists who were his contemporaries, during his time in the French capital, and I commented that I too, find my creative juices are at their most abundant after a drink or two. No more than a couple of glasses of beer, otherwise I start losing focus on what I am trying to say, but I am certainly of the opinion that a beer or two really does help me to focus and knock out the odd article.

If proof of this were needed, my written output over the past 10 days or so had been somewhat subdued. I mentioned about having had a tooth extracted, and  have been quite surprised how much this relatively simple procedure has knocked me for six. I bounced back pretty quickly after having my wisdom teeth removed, but that was 40 years ago, so perhaps my body is trying to tell me to slow down a little.

Feeling under the weather has also put me off my beer, so  I don’t know whether that is the cause of my current lack of inspiration for something to write about. On the other hand it could just be a combination of working too hard and trying to cram too much other stuff in.

I really need to get my mojo back so now, more than ever,  I feel a longing for that nice cool mug of beer, consumed in that warm, sunny Bavarian beer garden, over-looking the River Danube. Only another 12 days to go!!