How to Find Inspiration

I need some inspiration. I’m sitting here, needing to write, a part of me longing to write but I’ve got nothing. Well, that’s not quite true.

I have a little guy who is supposed to be sleeping upstairs yelling “I need to poooooop!” So, I guess I’d better deal with that.

I take him by the hand, his little fingers still so tiny. I stare out the window, watching the corn reach towards the sky, I flip through a magazine as he sits taking forever to finish. I put him back to bed, tuck him in, and tiptoe back down stairs.

I’ve found my inspiration.

Because as I held his little hand I thought of the quote by Randy Pausch about how you might not have been dealt the best hand in life but it’s you’re job to play that hand with everything you’ve got.

And that made me think of my fellow momma’s who were struggling to raise their kids with kindness, firmness and grace while still trying to deal with the abuse they recieved as kids.

And as I tucked him back in I thought about how I would make mistakes but I would work hard every day to give him the tools he needed to be a strong, kind, independent person who would bring beauty into this world.

I would give him tools to break through the crap life would throw at him. To combat the mistakes I make. To help bring healing to those he would one day surround himself with.

I want him to know you combat death with life. You speak words that are true over yourself. You take the lies your mind whispers at you and you stop them with love. You speak out loud and clear. You remember your purpose.

I want him to know that no matter what you struggle with in life you treat yourself with kindness and respect.

I want him to know that life isn’t about striving to be extraordinary, but rejoicing in the everyday, finding pleasure in the beauty around you, loving others and being remarkable by being simply who you were created to be.

I want him to know that whatever grief life brings along it’s okay to embrace the tears, to sorrow, to be real with those around you. To allow yourself to have a bleeding heart and walk together towards healing.

I want him to know that he should never shy from something that is hard, that difficulties cause you to grow, to become strong, that beauty comes from simply doing hard things.

I want him know that he should never give up. That great things take time.

I want him to know, as William Shakespear best put it that a true friend “… is one that knows you as you are, understands where you have been, accepts what you have become, and still, gently allows you to grow”

I want him to know that his life is a message. That your thoughts determine your actions, your actions determine your habits, and your habits determine your character. So be mindful of what you think.

I want him to know that it is always better to do what is right, rather than what is easy. To stand for what you believe in. To be unshakeable in your convictions.

I want him to never judge a person by the chapter of their life that you just walked in on. But to love a person, and have grace for who they are, where they are coming from and where they are going.

I want him to know that growth takes time. That some days will be hard. Some will be beautiful. Some will challenge you. Some will shake you. But one day you will look back and see how far you have come. Little by little. Moment by moment. Slowly weaving a legacy, a message, a story.

Tonight, his little face was my inspiration. His desperate need to poop way past bed time led to me down a path I wouldn’t have otherwise gone. I might have instead written about how to manage your priorities, or how to make time stop. But instead, I wrote about something that is close to my heart.

If you need inspiration, look to the things that are close around you, embrace the things you love, take time for the people that are in your life. You might be surprised about what you create.

You’ve got this!

Jessalyn