Aspire to Inspire Before You Expire
12.15.2006
What a wonderful phrase to commit to memory. Even more so, what a wonderful phrase to commit to action.
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As the winter solstice approaches and you round the corner toward the new year, ask yourself two very important questions:
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What/Who has inspired me this past year? What moments, actions, words, or deeds have motivated me to try harder, to love more fully, to care more deeply... to be a better person?
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What message and example in and through my life would I like to use to inspire others (and myself) in my coming days?
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There is never enough time to be passionate about something... anything...
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If it's a lifelong goal, a personal mission, a family responsibility, a relationship - whatever it may be for you, be passionate about it. If it's important to you (the kind of "important" that stirs your very soul), then pursue and revel in it.
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Nature and Life teaches us two very basic and vital lessons; ones we still tend to overlook or ignore:
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- The very existence of Life, within all of the classifications of species and phylums, promotes specialized purpose. The seed of an acorn will grow to become only an oak and serve that purpose in the larger realm of Nature.
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The very existence of Life, within all of the classifications of species and phylums, promotes the richness of diversity and int erdependence. The seed of the acorn will eventually, when allowed to, will grow into a mighty oak, providing foliage for all forms of winged wildlife. The acorn will also serve as food for a host of wildlife.
You and I, my friend, while serving as hosts to our spiritual purpose, are intermingled within this same existence. And these are lessons to take to heart and fully exercise.
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You serve a specialized purpose in this grand existence. You need to believe this and live this important fact. Those that inspire you have most likely come to understand and embrace this reality. You are special and you were born for a very important, specialized and unique purpose. What is that purpose? That is for you to continue to explore, reflect upon, pray for and pursue.
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You are like no one else in this uniquely diverse existence. And you cannot, in any way, ever become like anyone else. You may be able to imitate, but never duplicate. Even genetic engineering will never break this specific code, this grand purpose, this powerful force. You were and are destined to be YOU and only you.
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And in these lessons lies the ability to inspire. Ask yourself the questions I posed above again. Passionately pursue the answers. The first part of the quote ("aspire to inspire") is optional. The second part of the quote ("before you expire") is mandatory and inevitable.
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Take time in the coming year to inspire yourself with your own specific and unique passions. In that pursuit, you will make the first part of the quote an inevitable part of your life.