Have you ever been in a hard-feeling place? Have you reached for some sort of inspiration, something to cheer you at that moment?
I have been there many times. Over the years, I have found things that inspire me and help me go through whatever makes me feel down in the dumps right about then. Sometimes it is an actual thing that appears to be wrong, and you don’t know how to solve the problem or overcome the situation. Other times it is just a feeling that comes for no seeming reason at all.
There are writings I turn to in the middle of these times. Usually, a Bible story or passage comes to me to ponder. Other times I try to read the Bible, but it is a locked book at that moment. I am looking to feel God’s Presence in moments like that.
I’ve even Googled “Inspiration” and didn’t find anything that resonated… I’m sure you can relate to moments like this.
Sometimes it takes a while to find the solace you are looking for; even some great authors, poets, and hymns only make you feel even more desolate and lost. Other times it is not so apparent. You tell yourself to keep your chin up. After all, I tell myself you are an adult and should know how to self-soothe by now.
A week ago, I felt like that for no apparent reason. Sure, there were many circumstances that I could have used as an excuse for feeling down. Like so many others, we have been complying with Social Distancing, which is the caring thing to do right now to counter the spread of COVID-19. It has been almost a month, and there is little hope that it will end for another month or more.
It is not as hard for me as it might be for some others since I work from home and always have some sort of project on the go. But to be busy at home is one thing, and not be able to go out and socialize at all is another. I miss being with family and friends and seeing our grandchild.
Others miss their families too. Facetime and instant messaging are lovely but don’t take the place of real hugs. We can all feel the need for new inspiration at moments like this.
You may enjoy this book. The Missing Peace: A Gentle Approach to Finding and Maintaining Inner Peace by Nere Lartitegui, Ph.D.
There is a geographical distance in our family, but for holidays like Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas, we look forward to getting together. I look forward to preparing a nice dinner and having as many of the family as are available to come to visit. Then there are friends and church that are also being missed.
I was starting to feel miserable and beating myself up for it. After all, others are having it much worse!
My husband and I have been taking a short walk each day to get fresh air and exercise. Soak up some much-needed vitamin D after the long grey winter.
This one day, we were walking along the beach, talking about many things and looking forward to when Social Distancing could be lifted. We talked about the people who were out of work because of this, people on the front lines, and people who were ill. We talked about what this would be doing to us and what it might be like when it was all over. Like so many others, we will have to pick ourselves up again and go on.
I felt a twinge and felt low, probably picking up on how many others are feeling right now, too.
Our conversation turned to entertain more positive thoughts. I dawdled a bit and paused to step over some weeds in the sand. My husband had gone ahead a couple of feet, and I continued my Pollyanna-style chattiness as usual and said something like, “Well, everything could come out better in the end.”
In mid-sentence, I stopped in my tracks, and there on the ground was a little clay pot fragment tossed no doubt ashore after having been jostled by many a wave. It was a perfect heart!
I breathed a deep breath and reached down to carry it home, telling myself to remember what had come out of my lips at that instant. “Everything could come out better in the end.”
I set it on my computer and have looked at it now and then and felt hopeful, like it was a message from the Divine, All and Everything.
This whole experience reminded me of a poem I had written some years ago.
Bird Song
I wonder if the spring would come
Without the birds’ insistent song?
If the sun would turn its rays to be the perfect sum,
Of golden hues that lift a gleam of green
From cold hard mud?
Would trees sprout buds, or spring, remain unseen?
What if fluttering birdie things
Turned frozen earth to buttery flowery wispy scenes
Where children play and thoughts take wings!
Let’s join this swelling chorus of peeping
Start some silent seeds to sprouting
An inner mind spring, letting go and leaping…
Birds know when spring should be sprung.
Somehow they fly back to our Northland
From southern climes far-flung.
And through rain and wind and cold,
Just sing and sing,
Being brazenly bold.
Amazing little creatures,
Their tinted feathers blend almost unseen
With undaunted trusting features…
Steadfast constant chirping.
Joyfully, they chide at winter’s claws
And with these voices come, it’s usurping.
I wonder if spring will come
Without the birds’ insistent song?
In the chance that you are also Googling to find “Inspiration,” and if there is anything here that resonates… Then I hope you will find some hope too.
You may enjoy this book. Creativity Unlocked: An Inside-Out Approach to a Life of Joy and Purpose by Chris Lumry
Let’s all start chirping and see if we can help. “Everything comes out better in the end.”
