I is for Inspiration

1 Reply

Inspiration

  • The process of being mentally stimulated to do or feel something, especially to do something creative; arousal of the mind, the heart and the brain, to special, unusual activity or creativity
  • The quality of having been so stimulated, or the product of creative thinking and work; a sudden brilliant, creative, or timely idea; divine influence or guidance, intuition; a person or thing that stimulates in this way, an inspiring or animating action or influence
  • The drawing in of breath, the act of breathing, bringing in air; inhalation

I see something beautiful, confusing, alive, and it causes me to pause, breathe in, and look closely. In the moment before any judgement or understanding, it touches my heart, and my heart in turn opens to it. In the stillness of this moment, something swells. My chest feels full of wind, energy and fresh air, and I want to reach out, touch, connect. This longing hurts. In the purest moment of devotion, I make an offering, a wish, a prayer.

What inspired me today:

  • Lilacs on my writing desk. Tiny flowers, big smell.

  • Spring morning bird songs. Two tiny sparrows roosting in my lilac bushes. The robin on the fence (it’s a female, I’ve learned) who insists on believing that my neighbor’s bathroom window is a viable place to roost (she’s been at this for a few weeks now)–this morning, she was throwing herself against it with a mouthful of grass for building her nest. I am inspired by her, so completely wrong and yet so utterly devoted.
  • Susan Piver, this post especially, and her reminder “that the true meaning of your practice arises when you do one thing and this one thing has way, way more power than trying your super-hardest best or willfully throwing yourself at the dharma—and that thing is this: RELAX.”
  • Music. Some of it came from my computer. Some of it came from the river, full and moving fast. Some of it came from the newly opened Aspen leaves whispering to the wind.
  • Susannah Conway. Today is the six year anniversary of her first blog post. I am inspired by everything about her, everything she does: her willingness to be vulnerable and brave, her wit and charm, her creativity, her writing, her photography, her videos and books, her ecourses and her blog.
  • One of the books I’m reading, “Steal Like an Artist” by Austin Kleon.

What is inspiring you today?

Wishcasting Wednesday

16 Replies

What do you wish to jump into?

It’s interesting that Jamie’s picture is her jumping in a puddle in the rain. It’s raining in Fort Collins today, drizzly and dark and depressing. This is what the wishing landscape looks like here today:

It’s the kind of day when a soft puff of breath isn’t going to do it. Those wishes aren’t coming off, aren’t being made without a little energy and force. There will be work involved with this wishing.

How interesting, considering the clearest, strongest, loudest answer I have for this prompt, “What do you wish to jump into?” is that I wish to jump into writing my book.

And then, what comes right after reinforces the realization I’m having that I am a Jill of All Trades. I’ve spent a lot of time thinking that your dream, your passion, your calling, has to be just one thing, and I was okay with that, since being a writer was my dream and it felt so huge, big enough to fill a whole life. But, what I am beginning to understand is my dream involves more than just that, even as central as the writing is to the rest. It includes yoga, meditation, coaching, therapy, art, mindfulness, teaching, mentoring, hiking, running, music, blogging, web design, dogs, relationships, vulnerability, bravery, silliness, curiosity, eating healthy, self-care, self-love, etc.

And yet I can distill the whole thing down into a single calling: helping people remember, rediscover, be mindful of and manifest their basic goodness. I wish to jump into that. Plunge, dive, leap, vault, cannonball, belly flop, jump into that.