In my post yesterday I mentioned that I am always taking in the images, sounds and impressions of my life, regardless of the noise.  My life and your life, these are our personal beings and the spaces we embody.  As I was just writing, I noticed the fluttering of trees outside my window, so I walked out to investigate and was gifted by the sights and sounds of part of my natural surroundings.

This is input.  It is stimulation for further consideration.

The key to benefitting from the input is to recognize it, take it in, and hold onto it.  Its the stopping to smell the roses thing, but its also about remembering the bouquet and beauty of the rose later.

I compartmentalize… I have all sorts of boxes that hold the pieces and parts of my day, and then I rest and it settles and becomes a part of my being.

I have a friend, Pam Goode, who confesses she would rather never sleep than miss a moment of the input.

The wow part of making art is this gathering of input; the fun part is the sorting; and the interesting part is the creating (the output).  Without the input, there is no output.