Finding inspiration can, at times be challenging. It may require that you pause and look a little more deeply into a situation. When identified, that which inspires you is worth it. It lifts you up and in the true definition of what inspiration means, gives you breath.
This has been a week of inspiration for me. I took time yesterday from my work schedule to watch the Inauguration of President Barak Obama as he begins his second term in office. Yes, he is an inspirational presence in world leadership. More than that, the circumstances inspire me.
I am old enough to remember that time 50 years ago when thousands gathered for the march on Washington, and I remember with great clarity Martin Luther King’s I Have a Dream speech.
I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident; that all men are created equal.”
I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit together at the table of brotherhood.
I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.
I have a dream that little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.
I have a dream today.
As Barak Obama delivered his inaugural address on Martin Luther King Day, what inspired me was the legacy Dr. King created with his dream. Like any intention, he set change in motion, without understanding how it would happen or what it would take, he shared his desires with the world. The power of intention is amazing. Would Dr. King have imagined that his words would open up the possibility for a black man to become president in such a short time?
In 2008 Jim and I visited Washington for the first time. We walked up the stairs of the capital building and looked down the mall to the Monument. The view is breathtaking. When I looked down at my feet, I saw immediately in front of me a stone with the following inscription: I HAVE A DREAM – Martin Luther King, the March on Washington for jobs and freedom, August 28, 1963. This was the spot from where the speech had been delivered.
History can inspire us; we simply need to focus on the right things. It is easy to get lost in a sea of negativity and all that is wrong with our world. And when we give this view our focus, we also energize it.
By contrast, there are many events each day from which we can derive inspiration. In fact, if we were to pay close attention, we would find many more good deeds than negative ones. Again, when we bring our attention to the good deeds, we energize them.
I once heard it said that the nightly news, which as you know is riddled with all the drama in the world, the bad and the ugly, represents less than 1% of what is actually happening in the world, the unreported events of everyday. These are typically buried as they provoke love and appreciation rather than fear.
Our world is out of balance. Despite this, you and I get to choose, to be inspired or simply tired.
Make a choice for your highest good – choose to breathe. Find people who inspire you and forge relationships with them. Notice that everyday miracles that are unfolding around you and breathe them in. Limit your exposure to CNN – Constantly Negative News.
When you nourish your spirit with the inspirational people and events that are happening, you become inspiring, and isn’t that what we really want?
Until Next time…
Betty