 |
Posted January 29, 2013
Can You Create a More Inspiring Lifestyle?Eugene HemrickOn a recent trip to the National Museum of Air and Space, I was pleasantly surprised at the inspiration it still possesses for me. How I marveled at the technology that helped us propel into space. I pledged to myself that I would utilize technology to infuse similar creative spirit into my own work. It is amazing how much one inspiration moment can produce. If we reflect on the best accomplishments of our life, we discover that the resulted from someone or something that inspired us. An inspiration may last for moments, yet its impact can redirect our life. Inspiration may come from personal contact with another, from a book or a moment of silence in which suddenly something clicks for us. As with supernatural grace, we don't earn inspiration; it is a gift. Like love, inspiration can move mountains. Inspiration, aspiration, respiration and spirit have the common Latin root "spirare," to draw breath. To be inspired is to be touched with exciting possibilities and to be stimulated anew, much as one who breathes in the cool fresh air feels invigorated. Some people undergo a born-again experience in which a deadening existence is brought back to life. For some people, hidden talents they didn't know they had were brought to the surface by an inspiration. When we wake up in the morning, the news frequently is very uninspiring. Many people go to work unenthusiastically because their work presents them with no creative challenge. On the way to work, traffic jams, pollution and parking difficulties may dampen the spirit, reducing us to half-breathing persons. Cluttered and broken streets, broken down homes, unkept lawns and garbage everywhere can destroy any sense of beauty we possess. Back home again, we often sit down to an evening of mind-numbing TV programs. Unless we make a special effort, we are prone to live in a vicious cycle of non-inspiration. Which leads me to ask when the last time was that any of us consciously put ourselves into a situation that had the potential to inspire us. I say consciously, because with so much around us to block inspiration, a conscious effort seems to be needed. Let's formulate a few questions centered on homelife to help bring into focus what I mean. Can we stop to weigh which TV programs should be watched for inspiration and to evaluate what exactly their inspiration might be? Do we ever evaluate the level of conversation at the dinner table to learn whether it could be raised a notch in order to become more inspiring? How much literature found around the house possesses any potential for inspiration? Are our daily routines ever assessed to see if they could become more invigorating? What do we do to bring beauty into the home --- the kind of beauty that might inspire yet more beauty? The atmosphere and the routines of homelife make a difference. If we live according to deadening patterns at home, we cannot truly expect to become inspired there. Maybe, however, we can do something about that. Give it a try, it may be your most inspiration moment in life!! |