Collected random bits of inspiration I happen to like a lot. Enjoy! Feel free to add your own too.
— From an interview with Duff McKagan in Playboy:
Some people wake up in the morning and say “Ugh, I’ve got to do this or that today.” The secret to my success was to go from that to thinking, Today is another chance to do everything I want to do. I also realized nobody would do it for me…I began to think, what person haven’t I met, what conversation haven’t I had? Something as simple as that will change your outlook.
— Cholla, the horse that paints. I find his paintings moving because I feel I can see into his mind and how he views the world. From his perspective, the world is a beautiful place of life. That, and I just like horses.
Watch his video, he seems to really be thinking about what he’s creating. There’s a bit more thought than just slopping paint on a canvas.
Remember, just because he’s a horse and thinks differently than we do doesn’t mean he doesn’t think. He’s translating his thoughts into our language. He’s not a native speaker.
— I was introduced to the poem Our Deepest Fear in the feel-good, charming and powerful movie Akeelah and the Bee. Watch the movie, read the poem, do both in whatever order you choose. Like Red Bull for the soul.
— Another poem from another movie. I haven’t seen Invictus but the trailer in my hotel room in Darwin got me to look up the poem online. Wow.
Good enough for Nelson Mandela, good enough for me. [I’m being very cheeky. I am not comparing myself to Mandela in any way.]
— Someone sent me this video link a few years ago and I enjoy watching it every now and then. If you’ve got four minutes to spare, you could do a lot worse for your spirit.
Inspiration can come to you in lots of ways, even painting horses! This is some of my inspirational stuff. I go back to it over and over again when i need to buck myself up.
“I know that you cannot live on hope alone, but without it, life is not worth living. And you… And you… And you… Gotta give em hope.†~ Harvey Milk
And there’s great video on Youtube too about hope (and Harvey)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pvfexvihri8
He inspires me daily even tough hes been gone for a long time now… I’m a firm believer in hope.
Jenny,
Thanks for this!
An inspiration doesn’t have to be alive to continue to be inspiring, that’s for sure!
XX
If a 42 yr old can strip, a horse can paint. We’re both pretty remarkable, actually… 😉
Casey,
I’m dying laughing.
Care to team up with Cholla onstage? You never know…
XX
Wait…before anyone gets nasty with that idea…I meant something silly. Like Casey painting and Cholla dancing. A 2-fer type of entertainment special.
XX
Now this might sound a bit weird in a set of “inspirations” but for me it is an inspiration:
In one of the Nevil Shute novels – can’t remember which one – the main character (when talking about his impending death) says “It will all be the same in 100 years”.
I use that phrase to remind myself of my cosmic insignificance, to remind myself of the importance of humility and remind myself of the need to maintain perspective. For me it is a kind of mantra that keeps me centred and helps me to make my responses proportional…
I don’t use it as an excuse not to act however!
CA,
Inspiration is inspiration. No judging here.
I like that. I use a similar way of judging things to get excited over: will it matter in 2 weeks? Often not.
Thanks for sharing your inspiration! It reminds me of how I feel when I spend time looking into the night sky.
XX
LOL… I’m so vanilla my mind didn’t even go *there.* But thanks for the clarification nonetheless. 🙂
Casey,
Just in case. I didn’t think about it till a bit later. Thanks to Google, I never know who might find my posts and what they might comment.
XX
I am always ready to enjoy my time with my friends and hangout with them, Lovely sharing about Singapore.
It is a great way to wake up, ” today is another chance to do everything I want to do”. Looking forward to tomorrow morning !
Duff,
It IS a great philosophy. I try to approach every day like this now. Makes for a much happier me at the end of the day.
XX
Some people find beauty, peace, happiness and bliss in pictures of vistas, sunsets and placid waters.
That’s cool, but I find my beauty in the dark in the way a woman’s body looks, smells, tastes and makes my synapses all fire like the Fourth of July.
Different strokes for different folks, y’all.