Random Thoughts

Hope. Fulfillment. Purpose. When you hear these words, what feelings do they evoke for you? For many, the mere utterance of the word “hope” evokes aspiration, not just in the sense of yearning but (breathe in/out) aspiring. Yet, far too often, we go through life holding our breath, waiting to exhale. And for what??!! Responsibility? Obligation? Fear? Unlike “hope,” those words alone, not to mention the “realities” behind them, can cause our breath to catch in our throats such that we couldn’t exhale to save our lives. But exhale we must, because our lives, and the lives of those around us, depend on it!

We long to be inspired, don’t we? We look to external influences—our parents, our friends, colleagues, celebrities, athletes—to move us to become better…better parents, better friends, better employees or employers. Whether we admit it or not, each of us seeks some touch, some word, some spark that awakens in us a raw, deep-seated, soul-stirring motivation that courses through us until it finally overflows like lava from a volcano long since thought dead. Innately, we know that this level of inspiration exists, or at least we hope it does. We read books and listen to motivational speakers to learn how to tap into it. We’ve witnessed it in others, and we long to experience it for ourselves. For without it, at our core we are but dry bones, walking dead, utterly lifeless.

There is a proverb that says, “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a dream fulfilled is a tree of life.” Now, some of us are living our dreams, and for that, I applaud you. Too often, though, we watch and wait for that big, life-changing epiphany that will propel us forward to achieving our heart’s deepest desires.

While we can draw on external sources for encouragement or added motivation, true inspiration comes from within. To inspire literally means to breathe into or fill with breath. True inspiration, then, is the communication of Spirit to spirit. From the very beginning, God breathed into us His own life-giving spirit. In other words, it’s already in you. You’ve already been inspired; it’s up to you…and me…to breathe Him in. In short, you just need to inhale.

That big life-changing epiphany? Well, that epiphany is your own life. The other day, I read a quote attributed to Ravindranath Tagore that read, “I have spent my days stringing and unstringing my instrument while the song I came to sing remains unsung.”

“Live with intention…” So begins a well-known and oft-cited quote by Mary Anne Radmacher. We all know the typical synonyms for intention: purpose, meaning, design. Well, I believe words encompass ALL of their potential meanings, and in medical terms, intention refers to one of the body’s healing processes (the way certain wounds heal, for example).

Could it be, then, that each of us was designed such that fulfillment of our purpose (living with intention; singing the song we came to sing) also brings forth healing in some form or another…not just for others but for ourselves as well? I think the answer is an unequivocal “Yes!”

What inspires you? What breathes life into you? What song were you sent here to sing? It is imperative, for you and me, that you begin to sing it!