Well, here we are at the start of another new year. 2025. Wow! It sounds futuristic, doesn’t it? Yet here we are. Some of us sailed through 2024 unscathed. Others not so much. Most importantly, the lessons we learned in the last 12 months are helping us to forge ahead and make the best of another year.
Some people get really excited about starting a new year. Personally, I feel more energized in September. I try not to buy into the expectations that come with New Year’s Eve or New Year’s Day. Sure, I have a couple of things I do, like clean the house (I may have forgotten to do that this year) and throw cinnamon out the front door to say goodbye to bad energy and bring in positive. But the snow-covered deck looked the same on Jan. 1 as it did on Dec. 31, and it was just as cold. No big changes there.
I don’t make resolutions, either. I always break them, and then I feel guilty and defeated. This year, I am going to look for the inspirational things in life. The little things. It is much easier to complain or to see the negative things in the world. They are usually much bigger than the day-to-day blessings we have and don’t acknowledge. I just read a poem that really resonated with me. It was written by Lisa O’Neil Guerci, and I’ve decided to share an excerpt with you.
We deserve joy especially now.
We deserve joy
Especially now.
And if it doesn’t present itself
As in-your-face fan fare,
Please find it in the smallest ways,
For it still exists, everywhere—
In glancing moments,
Sweet and personal,
In connections
Deep and meaningful.
I find joy in the way the late afternoon sun plays and glints on gilded leaves
The smooth curved rim
Of a coffee cup,
Satisfyingly
Weighty—
The one that fits my hand
And lips
Always perfectly.
Really, joy still is everywhere,
So please, never stop searching
It is there,
Waiting patiently
To be discovered,
held closely to your heart
like buried treasure,
Uncovered.
(You can read the full poem here.)
I love to feel inspired, so this year, I am going to try to look for the inspiration in things around me. According to Merriam-Webster, inspiration is the drawing of air into the lungs in breathing or the act or power of moving the mind or the emotions. I’ll go with the latter. Inspiration is that feeling of motivation, energy, or passion that floods your mind after witnessing something that was inspiring to you. It’s your own personal thing…what is inspiring to one may not be to another. Being inspired fires up the serotonin. It makes your heart sing. It creates that warm and fuzzy feeling or genuine love for yourself and possibly humanity. That depends on the inspiration! And inspiration creates a purpose in life. Yes, you are on the right road. You are validated! I mean just look at the opposite of inspiration—feelings of hopelessness, no motivation, and no sense of purpose in life. We’ve all been there, and it is not a fun place.
Now you may think this sounds like a bunch of hippie-dippy jumble, but I’ve got news for you! Psychologists have been studying inspiration. An article I found on the Berkeley Well Being page discusses some of the scientific concepts and benefits of inspiration.
The benefits of inspiration are mostly to our psychological well-being. But that impacts our physical well-being. Feeling inspired will unlock creativity, making you feel happier, and you will be more productive. Problem solving will be easier, and you will be more inclined to connect with others. Of course, the emotions produced by these outcomes can reduce stress, lower blood pressure, and beef up the immune system. Inspiration can lead to a sense of purpose. This can boost your emotional well-being and longevity. Feeling inspired can get you to try new things, experiment, and think outside the box. Sure, you may not invent a cure for the common cold, but your family will appreciate your new way of cooking chicken. At the same time, you are stretching your imagination, which helps keep your brain healthy and active.
If you are like me, you never know when inspiration is going to stop you in your tracks. Some of the common triggers are listening to music, reading, exercising, journaling, traveling, talking to someone, and getting out into nature.
I see a lot of quotes that inspire me. I’ll share some with you. Maybe you’ll be inspired to share some back!
Whatever the present moment contains, accept it as if you had chosen it. Always work with it, not against it. — Eckhart Tolle
Aging is an extraordinary process whereby you become the person you always should have been. —David Bowie
Life is short. Time is fast. No replay, no rewind. So, enjoy every moment as it comes. (Lessons Taught By Life)
Without leaps of imagination, or dreaming, we lose the excitement of possibilities. Dreaming, after all is a form of planning. — Gloria Steinem
When we feel love and kindness toward others, it not only makes others feel loved and cared for, but it helps us also to develop inner happiness and peace. — Dalai Lama
A pause gives you breathing space so listen to the whispers of the real you waiting to happen. — Tara Estacaan
Be like an elephant: remember what matters, look out for your herd, and don’t be afraid to take up space. — Lori Deschene
And the dandelion does not stop growing because it is told it is a weed. The dandelion does not care what others see. It says, “One day, they’ll be making wishes upon me.” — B. Atkinson
Let yourself be silently drawn by the strange pull of what you really love. It will not lead you astray. In the silence, there is a sacred mystery, a path that shows the way not with words but with the heart’s yearning. — Rumi
It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are. — E.E. Cummings
If you can’t fly, then run, if you can’t run then walk, if you can’t walk then crawl, but whatever you do, you have to keep moving forward. — Martin Luther King, Jr.
Courage is being scared to death…and saddling up anyway. — John Wayne
Interesting Reads & Things
https://www.berkeleywellbeing.com/
https://www.brainyquote.com/topics/inspirational-quotes
Wanderings Art 