Picture © Daniel Hanna

Inspiration is a word we often hear.  We may hear it in contexts such as the following: “That speech was inspirational,” “He is an inspiring figure,” “What is your inspiration?” or “He inspired me to follow my dreams.”  But what does inspiration really mean?

The word inspiration comes from two Latin words: in + spiration which together mean “breathing into.”  The word respiration in English which simply means “to breathe” comes from the same root as inspiration.

Just as it is impossible to live without breathing, it is impossible to live without inspiration. Inspiration must come.  The environment you are in is the environment you breathe in.  The question is: What type of inspiration is that going to be?

Is it going to be good inspiration or is it going to be bad inspiration?  Some air is clean, clear, and conducive to good health.  Some air is smoggy, polluted, and dangerous to be in.  Inspiration works the same way; if the environment you are in is bad and that is what you live in or you want to live in, then your inspiration will come from there and form you to be similar to what you find there, but if the environment you are in or you want to be in is a good environment (again what you want is important), you will also find your inspiration there.

There is a very important reason why inspiration is important, and it can be either extremely comforting or extremely worrying: We become like those we admire and those who inspire us even if we mean to do it or not.  It is interesting how we end up having their interests as our interests, and their skills as our skills, and their ways of thinking as our ways of thinking.  If you truly admire a poet and poetry, even if you do not have the skills of a poet, soon you will find yourself writing poetry and building the skills of a poet.  If you admire a musician or band, soon you will find yourself playing instruments.

That is how inspiration works.  We know others whose skills, works, art, and lives breathe in to us, and the result is we become like them.  It is a curious and remarkable occurrence.  We may not fully understand it, but we know that it is true.

So, there are four realities of inspiration:

1. Inspiration must come

As mentioned above, inspiration must come; just as we breathe in air, so we are inspired by our environment whether it is social, personal, artistic, or spiritual.

2. Inspiration can be good or bad

Just as the air we breathe can be good or bad, inspiration can be good or bad.  If it is good air that we breathe, it makes us healthy, strong, and clear minded.  The same is true with good inspiration; good inspiration will lead to spiritual, emotional, and mental well-being.  If it is bad inspiration, then it will lead to a bad spiritual, emotional, and mental state.

3. Inspiration changes you

Whether we realize it or not we become like those we admire and who inspire us even if we mean to do it or not.  We end up having their interests as our interests, and their skills as our skills, and their ways of thinking as our ways of thinking.  So, it is extremely important that we are intentional about who or what we want to inspire us.

4. Inspiration leads to more inspiration (we are made to inspire)

Just as others before us found inspiration and that led them to produce what they did whether they were artists, poets, musicians, authors, preachers, or teachers, so we also may end up inspiring others if we breathe in the works of those we admire.

Now, you have a call to action.  What do you want to inspire you?  How will you make sure that happens?

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