“Love for our neighbour, being made of creative attention, is analogous to genius,” wrote the philosopher Simone Weil in 1942.

She probably could have found a simpler way to get her point across. But she is a philosopher after all.

That spark of genius is a boondoggle. We almost instinctively chase after it. But that spark is elusive quarry. Maybe the truly rewarding artistic pursuit doesn’t start with innate talent. But rather, as Weil suggests, our mindset has to shift a bit (or a lot) in order to find the inspiration to create something of beauty.

We artists can get a little bit too self-absorbed from time to time. If up against a creative wall and you find yourself stuck, then ask yourself some questions regarding the pursuit itself.

What is it that you want to achieve? Perhaps the goal is very personal. You aren’t after much more than a nice turn of phrase or a particularly delicate brushstroke. Your work, on this day, can be focused inwardly, as you develop the skillset necessary for your craft.

But if you aspire to really affect someone else, a reader or a spectator, then turn your attention to how you feel about that imagined person. Find the love for that neighbor. Hold the image of that person close to you. Do some exploration into how the work you are creating can impact their lives. How does it say something that can elevate the experience of the audience member in the moment? Return to this line of questioning again and again — this is the constant application of attention that Weil writes about.

Then perhaps that novel’s turn of phrase becomes all the more meaningful. That brushstroke on the canvas could become just that much more expressive of something deeper.

If you feel sapped of creative juice today, then take a break and explore how love informs your life. Where do you really embrace something outside of yourself? Home in on that special space within your heart and see what happens.