In-Spired!
Tziri Frank
It’s the buzz word that’s busy people bounce across phone lines, email connections, and eye-catching advertisements. It’s the catch phrase you want to catch. It’s the topic of interest that prides itself on actually being interesting.
It’s the latest “yiddisher reid”.
And it is “INSPIRED”!
Just so you know, if you want to call yourself somewhat cultured, at all educated, and up to date on the latest and greatest topics of interest, somewhere, somehow, someway you should be on the endless quest to become inspired.
That’s right. You know you are “in the know”, if you are being asked to speak on the subject of inspiration, attending any public gathering with a title including any version of the word inspire, or at the very least reading an article, letter, or song devoted primarily to the subject of being inspired.
But what is inspiration?
According to Microsoft Word, inspiration and it’s various forms of the word is defined as; enthused, stimulated, stirred, moved, encouraged, motivated, brilliant, instigate, rouse, muse, idea, insight, and flash.
But those words left me feeling distinctly uninspired.
And when I feel uninspired I find it inspirational to ask anyone I come across for inspiration. More often than not the responses evoke some element of surprise, entertainment and education. At the very least they give me something to write about in my next article.
“What inspires you?” I asked my sixth grade son, Sonny, as he got off the school bus just a few minutes ago, “besides learning Gemarra, Chumash and Mishne, of course.”
The look he gave me was inspired, indeed. But, then he answered.
“Food,” was the prompt response. “Food inspires me. And right now I could use a healthy dose of inspiration (motivation). Is supper ready? I’m starving!”
“Uh… yeah,” I answered, “but I was so inspired (encouraged) by all the information I was researching all day, I kinda didn’t have much time for (inspired) brilliant cooking today. You are having a(n) (inspired) creative meal of fish sticks and French fries.”
“I’m not impressed (uninspired),” muttered Sonny as he left to make an inspirational (double decker with pickles in the middle) sandwich of various ingredients that have been sitting somewhat ignored at the back of the pantry closet.
“What inspires you?” I asked Ahuva, my inspired (brilliant) tenth grader as she stumbled downstairs in search of an iPod docking station.
“Huh?” she responded lacking any form of flash (inspiration) .
“Do you ever find yourself inspired (motivated)?” I tried again.
“I will be if I ever find the speakers for my iPod,” she said as she sifted through piles of laundry in search of her elusive key to inspiration, “I feel the need to be inspired (moved) by the latest in Jewish acapella music. Besides, I need the stimulation (inspiration) to get through the uninspired (insipid) homework I still have to get to.”
I needed no further inspiration (encouragement) to know that I better not ask any more questions. After years of self help books, classes, and introspection, I know better than to offer any inspirational (insightful) advice about school to a teenager. So, I called my sister instead.
She was doing laundry.
“What inspires you?” I asked her over the rumbling sounds of the washer and dryer.
“An empty laundry basket!” came the immediate response, “an empty laundry basket inspires me to dance around the house giggling with glee. And right now I am not laughing! Or dancing!”
And in a flash (inspiration) she hung up.
But the entire episode inspired me to check further.
What do people find inspiring?
The results are both typical and inspiring.
In a nutshell, inspiration basically depends on the socioeconomic ramifications and pseudo intellectual expectations of the culture any particular individual acclimates him/herself to. For those of you who are not inspired by the longest words I could find in the dictionary, all I am trying to say is that there are different strokes for different folks.
There are those who find stimulation and motivation from a challenging task in which much effort is expended and success is achieved. In other words, they work hard at something and then feel satisfaction with the knowledge that they have the wherewithal to attempt a difficult undertaking. Ironically, the inspiration does not come from necessarily succeeding at the test, but rather from attempting it at all.
A good example of this would be me and my endless diets. I am continuously inspired to attempt all kinds of culinary feats for my family while I myself drink nothing but the juice of sour peach pits every quarter on the hour on Mondays and Wednesdays, and eat nothing but apples and grapefruits the rest of the week. The fact that I never actually lose a pound does not in any way deter me from either continuing with the latest starvation exercise, or feeling inspired to create culinary delights for my loved that astound them and myself.
Yes, I am clearly one of those people who feel encouraged (inspired) by the challenge itself. Like many other overachievers it is the challenge itself that inspires me.
My daughter’s school bus driver is not one of these people that are inspired by effort. He believes that a job is something that should not necessarily be bound by such inhibitors such as time. Or responsibility. And so, getting to school each day becomes a giant guessing game. Will the bus come today? Will he be twenty minutes early. Or forty minutes late? Clearly this person accesses inspiration via surprise and mystery. Personally, I am kind of inspired to have his license revoked.
But I digress. Let’s go back to my “inspired” findings.
I have discovered that there are those who find inspiration in connection with tasty morsels of food, and most notable was anything made from the cocoa bean and food items containing high caloric intake. Clearly there is something to be said for the pros of ingesting fatty foods.
Other individuals admitted that purchasing something new stirred (inspired) them in some way. Interestingly enough, I have discovered that when purchasing something new, the less expensive the item was the more enjoyment and peace of mind was to be found from acquiring it. The more expensive the item the more creative the need for it became. This tells me that there is something inspirational about acquiring a cheap find, but even more inspiration is clearly available for high end items.
The rest of those questioned, which of course included important people such as the cashier at ShopRite, the gas station attendant, and my cleaning lady revealed that inspiration boiled down to feeling satisfied with life. In all seriousness, that is the number one source of inspiration for most people thought the aforementioned did have more exotic examples of it. The only variations to this fact lie in the way individuals discover the satisfaction. Here are some of the more popular choice mentioned.
- A beautiful sunset.
- Cheap gas prices (guess who said that!)
- A kumzitz in the dark with candles. (this was said by a teacher who often spends her free time in this activity.)
- Doing for others.
- A kind word
- A Shabbos seudah
- Davening
But, I think I have the best answer of all.
As the parent of a special needs child, I have long since learned that inspiration is closely associated with the world of the special needs population. And I have all the research I need to prove it. For over twenty three years I have been an honorary member of that world and the inspiration I got from it has changed my life forever. From the volunteers who selflessly gave of their time to enhance the life of a wheelchair bound blind boy who had trouble keeping his head up straight, to the dedicated professionals who went far above and beyond their call of duty in the quest for care of the boy who suffered from seizures and other medical ailments, I have been inspired to reach out and help others. From the other parents of special needs children that I have met, I have been inspired to do what has to be done as we become the voice that speaks for those who cannot talk. And from the special needs individuals themselves, I have been most inspired of all. I have been inspired to appreciate the small things in life like the ability to get out of bed in the morning, the chance to work hard all day, and the luxury of struggling with a heavy workload. It is only through the twenty something years of worrying and caring for Yossi, my own special inspiration that I have been zoche to see time and again the Hand of Hashem that was so clearly obvious in numerous stories that just “happened to happen” to him for him and about him. Living with all the trials and tribulations of my special needs son was a source of endless inspiration. But, only once I opened my eyes to see it.
So yes, a bar of chocolate will inspire me to exercise madly, and a new kitchen will inspire me to try new recipes for myriad guests, and a beautiful sunset will inspire me to sing in my own special off key way. But when I really need inspiration, I search out my favorite picture of my ultimate inspiration, Yossi, A’H, and I sit and I think and I remember.