What inspires you?

What inspires you? This is the question I’ve been asking myself today as lately inspiration has seemed to be lacking in my life. Slowly I have allowed myself to become somewhat of a hermit, spending most of my days and nights at home not venturing out for too long if I can avoid it. This isn’t who I normally am, I usually enjoy people and getting out and doing things and it’s about time that I pushed myself back out into the world before all of my inspiration and motivation disappears.

I’ve always viewed things a little different than some of the people around me, taken the time to enjoy the shape of a tree, its size, the way its roots stretch out across the floor beneath it, its leaves reaching towards the sky. I’m sure many people in my life have heard me say randomly, “wow look at that tree!" and most of the time I am laughed at, but sometimes the person I’m with will actually take a look themselves and respond with a “yeah, look at it”. Sometimes we get so caught up in our lives, where we have to be, what we have to do, that we don’t stop and enjoy where we are and what we are doing at the present time. We don’t enjoy the world that is right in front of us, our eyes already looking for the next destination. One day driving along in our car I was staring out at the clouds stretching out across the bright blue sky, white with a grey tinge underneath them, “if you think about it” I proclaimed to my husband who is use to my strange comments, “clouds are just giant dams floating in the sky”. He nodded to amuse me but sometimes I wish others could see the world the way that I do, enjoy the colours and the sounds of nature. You may think I’m going crazy, but I think I’m just taking the time to enjoy the world around me.

People are also a big inspiration to me, from my friends and the things they have had to deal with in their lives and the paths they have travelled to people like the Dalai Lama whose teachings of love and compassion reach out to millions of people. I truly enjoy listening to people’s stories and being shown photos of the past. It is as though they are giving me a small window into their lives which has helped make them the person I know today. The resilience and will to keep going in people never ceases to amaze me, some people have suffered so much but still continue to live their lives in a happy positive manner.

Of course as a mother my children inspire me every day to be the best version of myself I can be so that I can be a good role model for them. I want them to be confident but humble, compassionate and caring but stand up for what they believe in. I don’t ever want them to be embarrassed about who they are and try to be someone they are not. It would be easy for me to just tell them these things but I think leading by example is a stronger message than any lecture I could give them. They allow me to be me (for now) and don’t judge me when I pull a funny face, make a silly noise or dance and sing around the lounge room. I’m sure one day that embarrassment will creep in but I will know they love me anyway.

I’ve made a promise to myself to get out of the house more, and get back to enjoying the world outside of these walls. So many great things are set to happen this year and I don't want to miss any of it by being a recluse.

So at this point I guess the question is, what inspires you?