Catching the wave

I’m lucky to be a journalist as my day job, and nothing bolsters my spirits (and feeds my creative energy!) like interviewing a really enthusiastic subject. Case in point: the subject of the motorcycle ministry that prompted a recent article, Modern-Day Circuit Riders. The man who started the ministry is a longtime biker who absolutely loves the open road. He blogs about it, photographs it, travels thousands of miles on it – and he sees the natural camaraderie among bikers as the way he can link in his other great passion: God. Chatting with him for the story, his excitement was infectious. I found myself riding his wave of enthusiasm, taking it along with me the next day as I interviewed someone for a different article. His gift passed to me, became my gift to someone else, and at the end of the day, vitality was brimming and I had a few good articles to boot.

Writers tend to be introverted souls. We like each other usually (at least, I do), but our craft is a solitary one by nature. So I suggest we all try to spend some intentional time with fired-up people, and catch their wave of invigoration. While our private life experiences, both good and bad, lend a wealth of realism and depth to our work, we shouldn’t ignore the impact someone else’s “happy place” can have. It can dig us out of a creative trench, give us great new ideas or even serve as a quasi-stimulant (hello, espresso!).

At the very least it’ll put us in a darn good mood.