My husband was running late this morning and asked me if I minded making his breakfast. It was just after 7 am, and though that is extremely early for me (I usually sleep 'til 11), I didn't mind getting up to help. I let the pups out the back door and discovered the beautiful morning. The sun was out, the sky was a beautiful blue and there were no clouds. A perfect morning.
So perfect that I decided to stay up. I sat quietly on the couch with a cup of coffee, grabbed my iPhone and began playing with my apps. When I got to Pinterest, I found several quotes to pin to Spoken from My Open Heart. When I was done pinning, I looked at the board and enjoyed the mix of quotes, stories and pictures I've collected over the last four months since starting the board. I was really happy with what I saw.
It's amazing how relaxing and inspiring it can be to get up earlier than normal. The quiet and the view make it a peaceful way to start the day. Try it sometime!
I found a link to an amazing article on FB today. My cousin works for a company called Growing Bolder. Growing Bolder is, "An attitude. A mission. A passion. A team of people who believe in the power of hope, inspiration and possibility." Over the last several years, I have seen them do amazing work, sharing wonderful stories about people and humanity, and how much the human spirit can affect everyone around you.
Today's FB link led to a guest blog post on Growing Bolder's site written by a follower who is working hard to get back into shape. She joined a gym based on raving reviews of one of the spinning instructors, Kris Shanahan. She raves about how wonderful Kris is as an instructor, and how much better she feels after working with her for a while.
But the article isn't about the blogger's journey with Kris. It's about Kris' journey. She has overcome some very hard obstacles in her life and has worked hard to get through them. During her journey, she was able to use her story to inspire others. Take a look at the article. It's beautifully written and very inspirational.
I love hearing stories like this. One of the main reasons I wrote My Open Heart was to inspire my readers who are growing up with heart disease or other chronic illnesses. I never realized how much hearing back from some of them would inspire me. Once again, it's the mystery of the human spirit.
I found some cute dragon pictures while pinning today, and decided to look the artist up. Randal Spangler does beautifully animated fantasy paintings! His work is truly inspiring, and I will definitely be visiting his website often for inspiration.
Inspiration comes from a variety of sources: art, music, movies, TV.... When I need to feel inspired, I know I have several sources I can tap. I often find myself needing some inspiration when I'm feeling down or tired, unsure of what to do next, or feel blocked in my writing. This is very frustrating, and I often just walk away and hide.
But I'm really trying to break this pattern, and I'm hoping some inspiration will help me do that. So, thank you, Mr. Spangler, for your help.
Where do you find your inspiration?
