Living Inspired
Inspiration often used to express excitement over an idea or activity taking place. The sudden great idea that sings in your heart and soul is where we’ll begin this reading. For some, this may cause heart palpitations just at the thought of pushing outside our current comfort zone.
There is also a medical term called inspiration, which means to breathe in or take an inward breathe which is very fitting for this article.
Raise a hand if guilty of surviving life, a job, circumstances as opposed to living life?
How often do we drive somewhere and cannot remember the journey? Look at your phone for “a second” and 2 hours have passed? It’s what I call “auto-pilot” That mindless point where you are just existing, going through daily habits without focus, other than the current activity. How many days weeks or months go by before you realize? Life can be mundane if we allow it. Circumstances can berate to a point of giving up; making it through a day without pain, squabbling children, hostility around the world, lack of finances etc.. There is a way out of the abyss and it’s found through inspired living.
The ideas that sing to the heart come from our deepest desires and aspirations, sorting through them and determining a plan of action is part of the journey.
Inspiration From Our Gifts
At each point in life, there are ideas, thoughts, dreams, or aspirations to become or do something with and/or in life. Picture in your mind’s eye what those things were, feel that small pit of joy in how you felt with those ideas. Try not to let aged wisdom or logic interfere, focus on that small fire you feel when reviewing them. That is your inspiration.
Each and every human being has a purpose, a list of gifts that are unique to them. Whether natural or learned, these abilities can be utilized as tools for living an inspired life.
I wish that all of you were as I am. But each of you has your own gift from God; one has this gift, another has that.
1 Corinthians 7:7
These gifts can manifest in different ways and most are not acknowledged, identifying them can bring empowerment needed for a new journey. These un-acknowledged gifts can be anything from being a fast and accurate data entry processor, the ability to organize a playlist that fully captures the moment of an event, or being a better coach than the player in a sport. A list-maker, able to outline every item needed and anticipated. How is this inspiring you ask? They are abilities, superpowers, to proceed in making changes in how to approach desired changes.
Acknowledged Gifts
Once you’ve identified your gifts, look toward humanity in your corner of life. How can those gifts be compiled into an action? Do you aspire to one day farm and feed those in need? Use some of your gifts to learn about growing food, study techniques, volunteer with a local food pantry. Acknowledging all the amazing qualities you possess; in order to identify those that will become a catalyst to living again.
Acknowledged gifts can inspire your life inward by empowering you to make healthy choices in diet, focus on balanced wellness and begin to create positive change. God has created every one of us in uniqueness for a reason and some are frightened by that, others jump in with both feet leaving the rest of us in the grey area. Those ideas of a better you, an activity that helps another person or changes the world, are spirit-led passions.
The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.
Eleanor Roosevelt
Applying Inspired Living Every Day
Finding inspiration can bring energy to your life, direct our focus, and awaken the mind and soul to fresh perspective. You’re given dreams for a reason, focus on one until it leads to another.
Desolate circumstances can bring us to our knees, the father of lies loves to disenfranchise us from finding inspiration, learn to recognize what that feeling is and stop repeating the lies being told. EVERYONE is capable of living inspired every day, it doesn’t have to be a life goal focus, you can find inspiration in cleaning out a closet or chatting with a friend about what your dreams are. That inner glow, nothing can take that from you.
As an action plan for inspired living takes shape, you’ll gain self-control (think of it like a muscle that needs exercise) Not every day will be a win, there will be days when you lie in bed at night with the shock that you didn’t live inspired that day, rest well knowing that tomorrow will begin anew.
Gratitude
Living inspired requires you to apply gratitude to things in your life, whether they be undesired or not. Skipped your action plans for a week? Be grateful you are able to acknowledge and assess how you missed doing them. Feel the warmth of the sun on your face? Thank God for that too. In all things, be grateful, you’re alive to feel them and have the wisdom to change what you do not like and lovingly accept what you cannot.
As you apply gratitude to all aspects of your life, you’ll create what is called the “Law of Attraction” Begin to stop negative thinking and look for inspirational stories. Applied thought, “If Jack can climb a beanstalk to the unknown, I can walk 3 miles today or spend an hour in focused research”.
Inspired Plan of Action
There is no right way to create a plan of action in your life. For some, it may be eating 1 healthy meal per day for a month before progressing. Other’s may need to allow 30 minutes of research every day to grow their ideas. Working Job A for 2 years before getting Job B.
Your daily question should be, did I live inspired or did I inspire others today? Always know that tomorrow you’ll do better but love yourself no matter how the day progressed. A detailed planned life is not an inspired life.
Remember, you already know what auto-pilot and surviving life is about, try walking in the light of living inspired.
