Inspirational Rabbie

Burns' Mausoleum

Having been offered an Inspiring Blogger Award by my good friend Gwen Kirkwood, I thought it appropriate to write a post today - Robert Burns' birthday - on inspiration. Once I work out how to upload the award to my blog, it will appear!

At a meeting recently, early in the Robert Burns season, I listened to a lecture on the possible causes of the death, at the age of 37, of Scotland’s national poet. The speaker, a doctor and Burns enthusiast, had delved into the poetry and the letters of Burns to support his theories.

Opinion is still divided on what caused the poet’s death. Today, most people think it was rheumatic fever, and we picture an illness that overtook him for a relatively short period towards the end of his life. Theories that the poet’s drinking and womanising led to his death have largely been discredited, although they may well have contributed.

Relying on his medical background, whilst accepting that Burns had rheumatic heart disease, the speaker put forward the proposition that it was a lack of vitamin C that contributed in high measure to his early death. This was a condition that could have been prevented by the humble potato, but the poverty of the poet and his family meant he could not afford to stock his barn with potatoes. Poor potato crops in Scotland at the time led to high prices.

So what has this to do with writing?

Ellisland

During the lecture, it became clear that Burns suffered from illness of varying degrees of severity during his life. And yet... he managed (in addition to keeping up his working, his social and his romantic life) to write some of the most celebrated poetry of Scotland. The important factor here is: he didn’t stop writing because conditions weren’t ideal for the purpose.

This, I think, can be an inspiration to us all. We write, but life, in all its manifestations - good and bad - still goes on around us and indeed includes us. It’s only given to the few to have ideal conditions for writing every day of the year. That shouldn’t hold us back, nor should it be used as an excuse for failing to meet our writing goals.

Note to self...

Joan