I remember when I was twelve years old, my parents took my sister and me on a two week whirlwind tour of Europe. Even at that young age, I still remember seeing great works of art, historic architecture and beautiful landscapes and being inspired and in awe. And that was at the age of twelve. These days I can appreciate different forms of inspiration even more.
Inspiration is typically more than a mood. It’s almost as if your mood is lifted by being inspired much like a glider is lifted by the air underneath. Perception and focus are at the heart of inspiration. Do you know someone in your life who is constantly focusing on things that don’t seem to work that well, instead of looking for the things that are working well? If you’re consistently looking at the spots on the window, you’ll miss the beauty outside. Therefore inspiration doesn’t come from the outside; it’s really the appreciation from the inside-out.
There are so many things that can inspire a person. One of my favourites is music. Whether it’s a lyric or the melody or how the artist brings those together, music moves me in ways little else does.
Probably the ultimate method or source of inspiration is gratitude. I don’t necessarily mean gratitude in terms of: ‘just be grateful for what you have because there are people in this world who are starving and/or homeless’. Even though it’s true, you can always find someone else in more dire straits than you, that can’t be the only source of gratitude in your life.
Practicing gratitude is a life-long meditative, spiritual practice, one in which you find sources of gratitude in the every day little things. It’s really the practice of cultivating gratitude. And when you’re able to do that, your reason for being, your reason for doing, your passion and abundance all flow more freely through you and out into the world. As Jack Canfield puts it: “the more you are in a state of gratitude, the more you will attract things to be grateful for”.
When we start allowing more of who we really are to permeate into the world, that doesn’t just inspire us, it inspires others to do the same. And this is how we can all make the world a better place.
In the spirit of inspiring ourselves and others and for being grateful and attracting more awesomeness into our lives, towards the end of November we will be starting our Holiday Gift Giving Bonanza! Keep your eyes and ears open for information on how we intend to make it easier for you to share your gifts and love with the world!