As this is my first post—and the symbolic first page of the novel that will be this blog—I feel that it would be inappropriate to begin without acknowledgements.
To Brian Doyle:
For reminding me its okay to get naked emotionally, and inspiring me to be a better writer, witness, and human being. Who knows when I would have gotten around to writing if it weren’t for you.
To the laundry list of things I love, like, and even the things I don’t like:
Thank you for the inspiration. For the good, the bad, and the grey. To quote the tortured writer in one of my favorite movies Vanilla Sky, “You can do whatever you want with your life, but one day you’ll know what love truly is. It’s the sour and the sweet. And I know sour, which allows me to appreciate the sweet.” Also, “Because without the bitter, baby, the sweet ain’t as sweet!”
__________________________________________________________
Its funny the things that inspire us. Everyday things like music, conversation, art, home, church, school, the list goes on. We love these things, so much so that the word “things” suddenly feels inadequate to describe them. In any case, it is from these “things” we draw inspiration.
Having just been recently inspired and witnessing the phenomenon first hand, inspiration has been on my mind. One of my habits (I haven’t decided if it is good or bad yet, so I’ll call it grey) is needing to look up the definition of words. The Dictionary app on my iPhone is like crack to a word addict like myself. I’m not entirely sure why, but I have this silly fear of using a word the wrong way. Maybe its because I am an English major and should know what words mean, or maybe its just because I enjoy words and their play; either way, I like to word walk the word talk.
Here is what I found for the word of the post: in·spire. For the sake of space, I will only include a few of the definitions (if you really want them all, you’ll have to look it up yourself; you might as well just get the Dictionary app if you don’t have it already).
[in-spahyuhr]
verb (used with object)
- to fill with an animating, quickening, or exalting influence: His courage inspired his followers.
- to produce or arouse (a feeling, thought, etc.): to inspire confidence in others.
- to animate, as an influence, feeling, thought, or the like, does: They were inspired by a belief in a better future.
- to communicate or suggest by a divine or supernatural influence: writings inspired by God.
- to take (air, gases, etc.) into the lungs in breathing; inhale.
- Archaic
- to infuse (breath, life, etc.) by breathing (usually followed by into).
- to breathe into or upon.
Inspire is a cool word. Its a human word. It helps explain how we communicate with each other; important because in my view, communication is the essence of life. It’s what I’m doing right now. I’m communicating with you, and you like it, your reading this aren’t you? But more importantly, I hope I am inspiring you. That might sound weird, to read a blog to be inspired. Who does that? Keep reading, you’ll see.
Many years ago I remember reading somewhere that the root of inspire means “to breathe life into,” and that definition always stuck with me. The image that initially comes to my mind is a mouth to mouth thing. It reminds me of the time when I would pin my little brother down and put my mouth over his and breath into his lungs. While fun to do with siblings or a girlfriend, this is not the kind of inspiration I am talking about today (maybe in a future post). I love the epistemology of words. While we may not use them in their traditional or original sense today, understanding their history helps us to understand their “true” meaning. Inspire is one of those cool words that has an awesome secret meaning.
Being inspired means to have life breathed into you. It implies an interaction with another living thing. The wind can blow, but only living things can breathe. Because of this association with living things inspiration has been irrevocably tied to life in my mind.
Those “things” that inspire me? Well they aren’t really things at all. Things in themselves cant breathe. They cant connect to me on intellectual, emotional, physical, or spiritual levels.
What I’m really trying to say is that those “things” we love so much, they are people. Musicians are the music. Friends are the conversation. Artists are the art (Note: I have a thing for cheesy alliteration). Families are the home. You get the point. People breathe life into whatever they touch. And the great thing about it is that it’s contagious. Some of the most beautiful things in life are a product of chain reactions. We are ultimately a product of cell division. The lightbulb in your room, its power is a product of an electron wave. I always like to imagine electricity passing through a wire like “The Wave” through a sports crowd; and just like a sporting event wave, a chain reaction of inspiration is a beautiful thing. Whether it’s a musician channeling life through his or her music, or connecting with a friend who is giving you metaphorical CPR, inspiration travels just as fast and as efficiently as electricity.
So, in the spirit of inspiration, I’ve committed myself to taking deeper breaths of life. One of my favorite quotes is from the movie Shadowlands about C.S. Lewis’s life. After seeing a student stealing a book, Lewis confronts him and asks him why. The boy replies, “We read to know were not alone.” Isn’t that just so true? You probably agree but I’ll throw out a couple of cliches to prove my point anyway. We are a brotherhood of man. No one is an island unto himself. I’m going to use the word synergy now and don’t cringe, I’m aware how cliché it has become because we beat it to death in team building activities and the like, but cliché or not, something beautiful happens when we witness the whole being greater than the sum of its parts. When we open our minds, hearts, and (occasionally) our mouths we find ourselves being inspired, filled up with life like a proverbial balloon, one that can never pop and whose circumference measures happiness.
