Have you ever been doing something completely normal, like walking in the park, or watching an old Disney movie you haven’t seen in years, and then see/hear something that just reaches right down into your soul and makes you feel like anything’s possible?
This happened to me recently. I was playing Kingdom Hearts (if you own a PS2 and haven’t played this game, you need to go buy it right now), and one of the levels is set in “Deep Jungle”, which is based off Disney’s Tarzan. I realized that I hadn’t seen Tarzan in years (probably not since it came out), and I was like, “Heck, why not, I’ve got nothing better to do.”
So I downloaded it. Not going to lie, it’s not the best Disney movie out there – probably doesn’t even crack the top 5. But the Phil Collins musical montages are great, and Jane Porter is hysterically British. Then the third and final montage of the movie came on — “Strangers Like Me” by Phil Collins, in which Tarzan learns all about humans and their achievements, and all the wondrous things he’s missed while living in the jungle.
If you want to just watch the clip, click here. If not, here’s what happens. Basically, Jane fires up a slide projector and shows Tarzan various images – a gentleman in a suit, a city, etc. Then a dancing couple appears, and Tarzan and Jane start doing this really bad yet adorable dance … and then this happens:
The music has been crescendo-ing since the first note of the song, and now it reaches it’s peak as Phil Collins howls, “I just know there’s something bigger out there! I wanna know! Can you show me?”
And I got the most massive case of chills all up and down my spine. My skin is goosebump-ing right now, just thinking about it. Something about that combination of space imagery (man, I LOVE anything to do with space), music, and lyrics just makes me feel incredibly inspired, like I’ve just been a part of something special and unique that no one else has experienced. And that’s crazy, because hundreds of thousands of people have seen Tarzan … but I have to wonder if they were so impacted by it in the way that I was. Maybe I’m crazy. The evidence is as of yet inconclusive.
Does anyone else feel this way? You’re doing something totally innocuous, and then you see/hear something that staggers you, makes your whole world spin, makes you feel like you’ve just been privy to something unbelievably amazing, even if just for a brief moment? That’s what inspiration feels like, for me.
I’d love to hear about what inspires you. When I hear that Tarzan song, I just want to sit down at my keyboard and write until the sun rises. How do you get inspired to write? Are there certain things you do to get you in the writing mood? Or do you just get randomly hit by things that strike you as incredibly profound?
A #2 pencil and a dream can take you anywhere.
– Joyce A Myers
Awesome meme(s) of the day:
Michelle Proulx - Author 
I LOVE that feeling when a song gives you chills like that and opens up your world for a moment. And I feel the same way about space. I don’t think you’re crazy at all, you’re just open to inspiration, which is great!
Isn’t it amazing? 🙂
I have many songs by Lesiem, Amethystium, Magna Canta and Blue Stone on my MP3 player and I find many of them truly inspiring. But it was a song by ERA (can’t remember the song’s name right off the top of my head – sorry) that contained the line;
‘And the spark that lives in the heart of everyone, will become like a flame, like the sun.’ that really hit me over the head like an inflatable baseball bat.
That one line inspired the entire philosophy of my (potential) trilogy of books about Angels, Heaven and the birth of not only our universe, but every one that has come before it. In case you can’t see the connection, souls growing within us will one day be freed to join all others and join together to become a mighty. glowing force that will rival our own sun.
Your (potential) trilogy sounds amazing! I’ve also gotten books ideas from songs, although none of them have yet actually caused a book to actually be written. I would also like to state for the record that I have never heard of any of the bands you mentioned, lol. Judging by their names, I’m guessing … metal? Rock?
No, far from it. Rock inspires my YouTube videos, it’s true but the aforementioned bands/groups are gentle, soothing mellow vocals and instrumentals that truly lift my spirit at times. If you’re still curious, go to Amazon and play some of the free previews to get the gist of it. You never know, you may become a fan.
I love those feelings of total epiphany. Strangely enough, I’ve only seen Tarzan once but I have the soundtrack in Korean, so when I think of the songs, I think of the Korean versions.
I love the Lord of the Rings memes, by the way. 🙂
Who doesn’t? 😀 The Korean versions? I’d love to hear the story behind how you got those. I mean, my ipod is filled with Korean music, but that’s because I taught English in Korea for a year. Where would you even find Korean Tarzan songs? You’ve officially baffled me.
Well, I got them in Seoul actually. I’ve been teaching English in Korea for about 7 years now. Jeonju is my second hometown by now, I swear. Where did you teach? I love to meet other waygooks online 🙂
I taught in Pyeongtaek – just for one year, though, not seven! I don’t think I ever went to Jeonju. Is there anything famous there I would recognize? I mostly stuck around Seoul, although I did a trip to Jeju, Busan, etc. It was amazing! Although I’m happy to be home now 🙂
Jeonju is famous for bibimbap, Korean paper, traditional stuff. I was in Bundang for my first year, which is pretty close to Pyeongtaek. I don’t know if I ever went there, just passed the Pyeongtaek IC on the highway. 🙂
We have a pretty mean … *trying to think what Pyeongtaek has* … erm … Lotte Mart? I think we’re famous for our pears, although I don’t recall actually seeing any in the grocery stores. We do have a pink light district, which I accidentally stumbled upon – during the day, thankfully. Oh, and lots of nearby military bases.