Where Do You Get Your Inspiration?

Autumn to winter, winter to spring,
Spring into summer, summer into fall~
So rolls the changing year, and so we change;
Motion so swift, we know not that we move.
                                            Dinah Mullock Craik

Inspiration. Where does it come from? A spark, an idea, a glimmering...that unnamed something that niggles at you until it is a full blown, all out, can't get it done fast enough flash of creativity.

It would be so nice if we could just let go and give in to it. But it usually happens at the most unexpected time. I have the most creative thoughts when I am drying my hair. Why is that? Is it because my mind is floating free? A friend of mine said she has her most creative thoughts when she is putting on her mascara in the morning. Perhaps it is because we are so focused on something else that these brilliant flashes can dart into our subconscious.

I read alot of inspirational books, but one of my favorites, and one I read every year, is "Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy" by Sarah Ban Breathnach.  My favorite chapter is the chapter for September. Many of you may know that her book is about practicing gratitude, and finding your authentic self. There have been times when I have let that authentic self slip away, but her book inspires me to refocus, to have faith, to stay the course.

I'm sure Sarah would not mind if I include an essay from her book for September 15 titled "Authentic Success." Because today, as the weather is finally cooling, and we are hopefully entering a real autumn here in southwest Oklahoma, I feel the need to reconnect and reaffirm my goals and aspirations, hopes and dreams, plans and preparations...my journey.

  "Authentic success is having time enough to pursue personal pursuits that bring you pleasure, time enough to make the loving gestures for your family you long to do, time enough to care for your home, tend your garden, nurture your soul. Authentic success is never having to tell yourself or those you love, "maybe next year." Authentic success is knowing that if today were your last day on earth, you could leave without regret. Authentic success is feeling focused and serene when you work, not fragmented. It's knowing that you've done the best that you possibly can, no matter what circumstances you faced; it's knowing in your soul that the best you can do is all you can do, and that the best you can do is always enough.

Authentic success is accepting your limitations, making peace with your past, and reveling in your passions so that your future may unfold according to a Divine Plan. It's discovering and calling forth your gifts and offering them to the world to help heal its ravaged heart. It's making a difference in other lives and believing that if you can do that for just one person each day, through a smile, a shared laugh, a caress, a kind word, or a helping hand, blessed are you among women.

Authentic success is not just money in the bank but a contented heart and peace of mind. It's earning what you feel you deserve for the work you do and knowing that you're worth it. Authentic success is paying your bills with ease, taking care of all your needs and the needs of those you love, indulging some wants, and having enough left over to save and share. Authentic success is not about accumulating but letting go, because all you have is all you truly need. Authentic success is feeling good about who you are, appreciating where you've been, celebrating your achievements, and honoring the distance you've already come. Authentic success is reaching the point where being is as important as doing. It's the steady pursuit of a dream. It's realizing that no matter how much time it takes for a dream to come true in the physical world, no day is ever wasted. It's valuing inner, as well as outer, labor--both your own and others'. It's elevating labor to a craft and craft to an art by bestowing Love on every task you undertake.

Authentic success is knowing how simply abundant your life is exactly as it is today.  Authentic success is being so grateful for the many blessings bestowed on you and yours that you can share your portion with others.

Authentic success is living each day with a heart overflowing."

I hope you have an inspired day. I feel inspired to make pumpkin soap.

Cathy