The 5 Bits Of Inspiration That Got Me Through Today
What’s up with Mondays? You can do all the right things, get all psyched up, and even love your job and Mondays, to put it frankly, still suck. Whereas most days you might require a tall portion of motivation, Mondays require a Super Big Gulp. 7-11 plus Starbucks? What if?
But alas, I have nothing profound for you this evening other than to tell you that I survived. Here are some of the inspirations that got me through the day.
Inspiration #1- Yesterday at my church I heard a great story. A friend recently attended a concert with jazz greats Herbie Hancock and Chick Corea. Both men are accomplished jazz pianists who talked about their goal as musicians of making the other guy look good. Think you don’t have any purpose in your job? Start by making others look good.
Inspiration #2- My pastor told a story yesterday about a recent visit to Notre Dame de Paris. He told of sitting in the cathedral for well over an hour, admiring it’s grandeur, and observing the mass that was taking place. He then observed tourists who would walk in, take a picture, and then walk out. They were satisfied with evidence that they were there rather than the actual act of being there. In this Instagram and Facebook generation, how easy is it to take a picture and share it with our friends, when in reality, we need to sit a while and feed our own souls?
Inspiration #3- On 60 minutes last night, they did a story on Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson. In the piece he showed the picture above of a view of earth from Saturn. Earth is that tiny blue dot. That’s our home and the only home we’ve ever known. His point was that if human beings had this perspective they’d be a whole lot less motivated to fight one another. He went on to talk about how any time he goes outside, he looks up at the sky and the stars. As adults we lose that wonder that we so desperately need in our lives. Don’t forget to look up when you walk outside!
Inspiration #4- I listened to a favorite podcast this morning with a guy named Rob Bell. In it he talks about atoms and subatomic particles. Did you know that there are more atoms in a glass of water than there are glasses of water in the entire ocean? Think also about the fact that our bodies completely regenerate themselves every seven years because our cells are constantly dying off and giving way to new cells. His point was that science has learned so much and yet there is still even more that we can’s explain. That which cannot be explained is a miracle and I think that is the best way to describe so many aspects of our bodies.
Inspiration #5- Before bed this evening, my son Zack chose a book about heroes. We read a poem about dads and another short story about Abraham Lincoln. My favorite was that of Mother Theresa. I have enough trouble serving customers. This woman served the poorest of the poor and did it faithfully. I am reminded that whether we serve as our vocation or not, the point is that we aim to serve others and to truly love them.
I hope you see the common themes here. I hope you are reminded daily that we are miracles who are part of this vast universe that is beyond our comprehension. With that in mind, let’s take time to really remember that and then serve and love others in a way that brings out the best in them.
[custom_author=admin]