As I sat thinking and dreaming, I sought inspiration. Thinking it would never appear, my thoughts drifted off on its own having a bit of a wander.
Suddenly, like a slap to the head, it hit me…inspiration does not flow in, it bursts out! When something sparks your imagination, the creativity explodes out of you.
Hmmmmm…….
I’m the curious sort of shpek. Nothing special, just intensely curious. There are so many inspirations blonking about around us and yet we don’t (or can’t or won’t) see them.
Spent time chatting with a new friend the other day, yes, I do make new friends on occasion, and one of the topics of discussion had to do with inspiration. I asked my new friend, “What inspires you?” to which came a blank look. This, in itself, inspired my mind to begin churning and the squeaky wheels began klunking along. The more I pondered this, the more my mind began to aimlessly wander about. Then…….like the piano out of nowhere that smacks Wile E. Coyote on the noggin, it hit me! Some people are inspired to be uninspired!
Now before you give me that sideways, “You’ve got to be missing a few beans from the pot” look, consider the implication! There are some people who seem to be completely lacking in creative thought and haven’t seemed to have a creative thought in their lives. Why? Because they are inspired to be uninspired. Some appear to be rather robotic. Some seem to be without a spark of life.
And then there are the others. The ones who are find inspirationalosity at every turn and in every speck of floating dust bit. Yet the proof is in the answer to the question, “What inspires you?” Everything……nothing…..or “uhhhhhhhh…..wut?”
What inspires YOU?
There have been some events of late that have caused enough stress in my life to really mungle my mellowosity. Stressful situations are not always unwelcome, because I have learned, and am still learning, that a diamond cannot be created without extreme pressure for a long time. While I don’t claim to be a diamond, I do rather think I have some value.
Enduring is much like trying to walk into an avalanche. The things beyond your control will pound the zlop out of you while you attempt to tungle on toward your goal. It’s the job of the avalanche to either stop you, test your ingenuity of resiliency, or alter the landscape with several of your broken bones to up the ante of your goal.
Never fear though, we’re not promised a jaunt in the jungle while we’re buntering about this place.
I won’t and don’t claim to have the answers as yet while the lanche is still pouring down, but thus far the journey continues. Perhaps a bit slower than I’d like, but the goal still glows and draws me forward.
Meanwhile……..I look more like this:
I have to admit that JOTS and DOC don’t like getting awards and told me not to, but since when do rules apply when rule breakers are involved? So my dear JOTS, this one’s for you and your birthday! And this one’s for you, DOC, as a reward for all your hard work!
This is for the blogger who doesn’t want awards and the rules are simple…..
Smile
Say Thank You
Enjoy the rest of your day.
See? Pretty painless. But I just couldn’t resist.
“When you make a mistake, there are only three things you should ever do about it:
admit it, learn from it, and don’t repeat it.”
~Paul “Bear” Bryant
UGH!!!!
I spent twelve years in therapy, going once a week (sometimes twice, depending on the voices) at $100 per hour, which is really only 50 minutes. I poured out my heart and soul, spilling forth all that was crammed within my mind and had been rattling around, pushing for other things to move over and make room. My mind was filled to the point that it resembled more of a Three Stooges skit than a thought process.
Faithfully and patiently, the doctor listened to me rant and ramble about anything and everything. Every so often I’d see him make a note or I’d hear the pencil against the page of his notepad and wondered if I was getting better or, at the very least, making progress.
FINALLY, after twelve years I just had to know and at the end of our session I asked, “Doc…….am I doing any better? The voices seem to have calmed a bit and my mind sounds much less like the monkey island at the zoo during mating season. Am I going to be okay?”
The Doc looked thoughtfully at his notes, stroked his beard, looked me right in the eyes and said, “Ich spreche kein Englisch”
Great Outdoors? Are you NUTS?
There was a time when I found camping to be quite the enjoyable activity. Of course, that included a refrigerator, shower, cushy seats, and above all else, air conditioning (btw, this is another way of describing a hotel room). That was when I was much younger and far more adventurous. Then came the day that I supposedly grew up and decided it was time to get out and see the world, courtesy of the Army. I had seen all the advertisements regaling the military lifestyle as “Be All You Can Be” which I found to be distressingly vague and highly inaccurate. Permit me to pause here to insert a word, or several, the great outdoors……they make me appreciate the Great INDOORS all the more.
Let me be perfectly clear, I bear the military no ill will. We’re good. I will admit that I thoroughly enjoyed my time with you, with a few minor exceptions, and would highly recommend the experience to anyone seeking a change. One of the aforementioned exceptions has to do with the military version of “camping.” I specifically signed up for a Communications assignment because of the fact that, in communications, the equipment needs to be kept cool which means…we don’t grunt it about on our backs, we drive it around in large trucks with air conditioning.
Perhaps, I should have realized there was something amiss when my recruiter didn’t even let the pen vacate the page at the end of my signature before snatching the enlistment contract away and, with a grin like Dracula about to feed, smiled and said “Welcome to the Army.” I will admit, Basic Training was tough. Lots of yelling, noise, and tossing of items about. Even more spitting on and polishing of everything that wasn’t breathing until the sparkle could be seen for miles, at which point we had to don camouflage to cover up anything that might sparkle so we couldn’t be seen.
We also learned that just because one can yell very loudly and possesses an incredible thesaurus of profanities, does in no way guarantee that said loud person is able to read a map. My Drill Sergeant, who is undoubtedly a wonderful human being, but is highly directionally challenged, marched us out into the wilderness for a few days of adventure. I must point out at this juncture, that the Army idea of “camping” means each soldier (aka “ground pounder”) carries half of everything while his buddy carries the other half. Yes, that means I had half of a tent on my back and my buddy had the other half; I had half the food in my pack and he had the other half; and you get the picture. Subsequently, upon arrival at, what we thought was our destination, since our Drill Sergeant told us to drop our packs and dig a large hole over which we assembled a long bench of sorts (which we discovered later the purpose).
There are several things I could, and probably should, point out in detail regarding this “adventure” for future reference, but I’ll stick to a few generalities instead:
While I enjoyed my time in the military, I have reached the point in my life where I now have a recliner, a remote, indoor plumbing, and air conditioning so THERE!!!
My Second SUNSHINE AWARD!
There’s no way to continue without expressing my gratitude, admiration, and appreciation to Pia Valentin for this recommendation and nomination. Go forth and shower her with lots of love, gifts, and the occasional stalkery act. WOW! I am humbled and actually pretty much at a loss for words except to say THANK YOU!! And then give a big hug! Yeah Yeah, people get nominated all the time……well, I can tell you that this is extremely wonderful to me, because it means someone actually read my words and like them!
There is, of course, a catch to this extraordinary honor….that being the rules. As a rule, I’m not a HUGE fan of arbitrary rules, but in this case I will make an exception to my rule. The rules are as follows, in no particular order (here’s where I get to break the rules):
Here are The Sunshine Award rules:
• Include the award’s logo in a post or on your blog.
• Answer 10 questions about yourself (I’m changing the questions too).
• Nominate 10-12 other fabulous bloggers.
• Link your nominees to this post and comment on their blogs, letting them know they have been nominated.
• Share the love and link the person who nominated you.
And here are my 10 answers to the 10 questions:
1. Favorite sandwich? Peanut Butter, Swiss, and Turkey with Fritos between the turkey and the cheese.
2. What Is Your Quest? To wander about this life enjoying many of the sights, sounds, a few of the smells, and sharing a smile where possible.
3. Favorite Fruit? Fresh
4. Favorite Dessert? YES
5. Favorite Hobby? People Watching
6. My passion? This one is remains BREATHING!
7. Do you have a secret talent or hobby? If I told you then it wouldn’t be secret now would it? But YES I do.
8. Beach, Mountains or Desert? Love the beach, Like the desert, not much on the mountains though.
9. Favorite day of the week? The ones ending in “y”
10. Favorite Song? “I Don’t Wanna Stop” by Ozzy Osbourne (when he was still coherent).
And my 10 – 12 Nominees are……..(insert appropriate fanfare here)………The first 10 – 12 people to read this!
I was waiting for the line to move along so I could pay for my coffee, before it returned to the sludge from whence it came, when suddenly, like a smack to the back of my head, came an inspiration. Well, I should change that….there was a moment before I was able to recognize inspiration and I actually thought about punching the person behind me for their perceived undue familiarity. I will admit that the inspirative thought almost made an escape, were it not for the staying power of the scent of fresh coffee, this moment would have slipped into the oblivion as have so many ideas of the past.
Whilst standing in line, I like to watch people. Then again, I enjoy a good people watch wherever I happen to be. Watching the unguarded motions, habits, eccentricities (and we ALL have those in abundance), is always a thrill. I’ve wondered a few times what it must be like to be an animal in a zoo, with people wandering by to see what you’re doing (usually napping or licking oneself seem to be the predominate zoo activities). The thing I notice more and more is how people are becoming so impatient and always in a hurry. Why is that? Are our lives REALLY just that full of appointments that we become ulcerated in our rush from hither to yon unto beyond thither? What’s all the rush for? To make a few extra bucks that you won’t be able to enjoy due to your busy schedule of not enjoying?
I pondered this moment as I rushed to my car to get to the office. I dashed off down the street, came to a sliding halt in my parking spot, dashed into the building, bolted through the door of my office (taking the time to unlock and open the door first), and flopped into my cushy chair. Impatiently I ground my teeth while my antique computer sputtered to life and wheezed along making its calculations boot up, when I glanced out of my window at the tree that grows in the courtyard (which is incidentally the home of the family of birds that think my car is their personal target), and saw there….working his way along…..a snail. Some would refer to this critter as “Escargot on the Hoof” but this snail was moving along seemingly without a care in the world. It was during this mental wanderabout that the inspiration smacked me yet again. So I’ll share the image and the wisdom:
The Journey Of A Thousand Miles Begins With A Single Step
But Why Rush The Journey, Enjoy The Travel!
No go forth and enjoy your Tuesday’s meanderings!
Truly amazing it is the journeys our minds take us on; some amusing, some fascinating, some dull and boring (cure for insomnia that), some fantastic adventures, and all from to comfort of the theatre between the ears.
I realize it’s hard to believe, but my life is actually truly routine and dull with the odd shot of thrill and the frequent mental vacation from sensibilities. This tends to permit the sanity to have free reign and dash about like a kid in a candystore wanting to look in every glass at once. And NO, I do NOT leave noseprints on the glass.
The commute to and from the place from which I collect my stipend also lends itself to bouts of daydreaming. So YES, I spend very little time actually in controlled concentration and much of the time allowing my mind to scamper about like a butterfly on crack.
But simply because the cranial captive is bouncing from portal to portal seeking escape or refuge, there is an underlying theme to the seeming madness. “Enjoy and spread joy!” That is my mission in life. To share the joy. If that is in making you laugh until you snort, wet yourself, or fall over something, then MISSION ACCOMPLISHED.
If that is in helping you see that you are truly quite wonderful and interesting. Again, Mission Accomplished.
It that is simply to get you to think or just smile…..Mission Accomplished.
The best things in life are simple things. The more fun people in life like simple and aren’t afraid of those of us who are weird.
Thank You For Traveling With IMAGINATION TRAVELS!
I'm weird!
I'm odd!
I'm eccentric!
But most important....I'm me!
