For those of you who have ever used a common object to fix an uncommon problem, you know that this is true. In this context, there are many things which inspire creative acts.
Inspiration is an important part of the creative process.
Here are some of the documented historical examples of sources of inspiration. A sunset, a mountain, a verse of a song, a certain phrase, a child's smile. Harriet Beecher Stowe saw Uncle Tom in an ice cube. The medieval prioress, Hildegard von Bingen had visions that led to her music and writing. Tennyson's elegy for a friend became the poem in Memoriam.