Some mornings I don’t want to move. Coffee and the couch are my two tools to start the day. I sit, sip, and wait for help to arrive. This morning was one of those, and as I tried to wake up, I noticed something under the kitchen table.

Okay, there wasn’t a something.

There was nothing, but it looked so interesting. Cool enough for me to look twice. The overcast sky shone on my floor, creating a shadowy reflection of muted colors.

As winter slowly releases her icy grasp, one of the things I have noticed this season is the ice melting on ponds. Maybe a different time of year I would see something else, but somehow one seemed to sneak under my kitchen table long enough for me to snap a picture of it. Tall trees in cold, watery beds gave me hope that the flowers are still sleeping underneath.

I think part of being an artist is remembering to look twice. Often, something will have enough spark to catch our eye, but in the busyness of the day, take time to stop and discover it.

Maybe there’s benefit to those moments we don’t want to move.

So, my fellow lovers of all things art, here’s the takeaway:

Look twice.

Keep your camera or sketchbook handy.

Drink coffee.

Because eventually, we all need to keep moving forward. But the journey is more interesting with that picture in your pocket. And who knows what you will invent with it next?