[ so·lil·o·quy – the act of speaking one’s thoughts aloud when by oneself or regardless of any hearers ]
Today’s Sunday Soliloquy is brought to you courtesy of an email I received from the Global Corporate Challenge, a scheme I am currently taking part in (for the third year running) with a team of colleagues. The email began:
We often think of inspiration as something that comes to us just by chance. However, inspiration is something that can be turned on and found anytime. The American novelist Peter De Vries said “I write when I’m inspired, and I see to it that I’m inspired at 9:00 every morning.” The message is – don’t wait for inspiration to come to you, find what inspires you and use it every day.
I totally agree. I’ve written about inspiration before and am definitely of the opinion that it is as much about looking for it as it is about suddenly hitting you between the eyes.
You’ll not be surprised to learn that a sure way to get me inspired is to see the sea. It’s power and beauty, on the calmest of days and under the stormiest of skies, seems to always speak to my soul. It makes me smile inside; and when I’m smiling inside I feel motivated about the day. There are other things, too – music plays a massive part in my life and I can do no better than hear a stunning piece played well to inspire me. I’m sure you all have things that never fail to inspire you – family, friends, particular places, scenery, quotes. I’d love it if you would share some of your “sure” inspirations in the comments section below – you never know, someone else may also find inspiration in your observations.
I also believe that in order to be inspired we have to be open to it. There is absolutely no point going to watch a silly movie like Austen Powers when you are in a serious or pouty mood. You will find it annoying and, well, silly. But watch something like that when you are in a good mood, or are open to the humour within it, and you will laugh until your belly hurts and thoroughly enjoy it. In the same way, whether we can be inspired by a place, person or situation is dependent on our attitude at the time. We can choose to be jealous of a person’s achievements (jealous in a harmful to your mental wellbeing kind of way) or we can choose to be inspired by them. Ok so we might not be able to match exactly what they are doing or have done, but we can emulate their passion and reach for the stars. We can choose to be in a bad mood about something that is happening, or we can choose to be encouraged by it. It’s up to us.
I genuinely hope that all of you have something, at least one thing, that inspires you. And I hope that you always have your mind and heart open to things that may unexpectedly be your next inspiration.
Life is all about the journey. Search out inspiration daily.
What do you think? Comment below...