Be Inspiring

Maybe it’s time we stop sharing inspiring quotes and actually do something inspiring.

I posted this statement to Facebook and Twitter the other day when my stream was exploding with inspirational quotes and memes. I do love a good quote. I have journals from high school brimming with quotes that inspired me. I was moved by words for years before I was moved to action. I still love words and can eat up an inspirational quote. I jot down that stuff by the ream and stuff my purse pockets and desk drawers with scraps of paper reminding me to be inspired. 

The problem is…words aren’t enough sometimes. Life gets in the way of allowing us the time to do the things that make us fulfilled and human. We settle for content instead of reach for joy. We eek out hurried time with our friends instead of forging deep relationships. We take our family members for granted instead of smothering them with love. This is where our priorities start getting muddy and make the world a herky-jerky place. 

I propose we all commit to doing just one thing a week to inspire ourselves. This isn’t about inspiring others. Start with yourself. Do what makes you brim with glory and burst out in grins. Finding inspiration is easy. Being inspired is harder, but when you find it, it fills you up in ways that Thanksgiving dinner never could. Inspiration isn’t complex or expensive. Simplicity is a beautiful thing. 

Some Ideas

1. Send a hand written letter
2. Take old towels/blankets to an animal shelter
3. Deliver a case of water to lawn workers in your neighborhood
4. Sign up to learn a new language or a new skill
5. Donate hotel shampoos to your local Ronald McDonald House or battered women’s shelter
6. Sign up to tutor a kid or deliver Meals on Wheels
7. Write a letter to the editor about whatever moves you
8. Cook a homemade meal and invite neighbors over
9. Take cookies to your local fire station
10. Clean up trash around a walking trail
11. Send a note to your neighborhood listserv to collect spent batteries to deliver to the hazardous waste dump
12. Bring a meal to someone who needs a hand
13. Send an indulgent magazine subscription to someone who needs an escape
14. Print photos of people you love and send them copies
15. Leave a note for your mailman
16. Create family art together (a canvas, mosaic, anything!)
17. Decorate your sidewalk with chalk
18. Adopt a dog (or cat!)
19. Write a love letter to your spouse/partner (Today is Mac Daddy’s birthday so I will do just that!)
20. Organize a food drive at your office/neighborhood/book club to benefit your local food bank

Tell me your ideas. I don’t think it takes momentous effort to do something inspiring. I think little things in aggregate move the world. Being inspiring isn’t left to the Robin Williams and Maya Angelous and Malalas of our world. There’s a little Robin and Maya and Malala in all of us.