Wood is the raw material needed to create a fire. But, not all wood is created equal. It's damn difficult to start a fire with wet wood. You can do it. But, it requires a lot of kindling, tinder and patience. It's far easier to start a fire with dry wood that has sat around for a couple of seasons. Furthermore, a fire running on dry, seasoned wood burns better than wet, unseasoned wood. It produces more heat and less smoke.

Like fire, creativity requires raw material. This raw material usually isn't something as tangible as wood. It is instead art, music, poetry, literature, experience, spirituality, ideas, love, tragedy and so on. Like firewood, not all creative raw material is created equal. Some are better for starting the fires of your creativity than others. Because of this, we must be abundantly aware of the art we are admiring, the music we are listening to, the poetry we're reciting, the literature we're reading and the ideas we're choosing to hold close.