Lamisha Serf-Walls

Source of Inspiration

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I have been thinking a lot about inspiration lately, mostly because I have had an unlimited supply of inspirational thoughts, musings, readings, and quotes that I have come across lately.  And as I have been blogging for almost a month now, I have never had a moment where I didn’t have something to write about.  (Fingers crossed that doesn’t change.)  More specifically I have been thinking about the source of our inspiration to continually work towards accomplishing our goals and dreams. Where does it come from?

 

What is your source of inspiration?

Is it purely the satisfaction of accomplishing another goal? Or are you like me and you have this undying need to help make the world a better place one person at a time?  Maybe your dream is to start a business and money is your motivator, but is money going to keep you going?  I am not saying money is a bad thing at all, in fact I love money! (Well, actually I love what money allows me to do.)  But when it comes to your life purpose, your dreams, the fire that burns within, what keeps you going?

If I were to answer that question about my dreams, I guess it would depend on the specific dream.  For instance, wanting to run a mini-marathon is purely for the challenge and accomplishment factor.  The training and preparation needed for such a task also allows me to get into shape and live a healthier life which is an added bonus.  My inspiration for writing a book is partially accomplishment based, but more about the fact that I want to inspire, motivate, and move more people in the direction of their dreams and writing a book that reach the masses seems like a good start.  My inspiration for becoming a life coach is also about reaching out to people and empowering them to accomplish their dreams too.  To think outside the box of “reality” or the reality they have been taught, to find the undying power that lies within when you truly believe in yourself.  Helping others, and being a source of their inspiration has been something I have always enjoyed and it continues to light the fire with in me to just keep going and never give up.

You want to know what else inspires me?  People doing what they love.  When I see someone living their dreams, doing the thing that brings so much joy into their lives, I am more motivated.  I feel good and I know that one day that will be me and I hope that whatever I choose to do, I do it with the joy and zest that I see in others, because it is contagious!

Have you ever thought about the things that inspire you on a daily basis?  Have you ever taken note of the things that drive you to continually give it your all?  If now, now is the time to do so, because when you know what inspires you, you can always turn to those things, people, books, when you are in need of a little pick me up.

So I ask you this…

What is your source of inspiration?

Acceptance vs Resistance

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There are many times in my life when I find a common theme that continues to appear in various ways.  Sometimes it’s a word or a phrase I hear over and over, while other times it’s a full-blown message in a book or article I am reading, but no matter where I see it, if it keeps popping up I take note.  This has happened again over the last week or so and the message I am seeing in various places is acceptance for what is.

What does that mean? When I think of acceptance I often think of the serenity prayer, specifically “accept the things I cannot change”.  It rings true to me that we should accept the things that are outside of our control, however I can’t help but wonder what if we only perceive that we cannot change it, but then again perception becomes our reality most of the time.  But this message of acceptance has come in many forms and circumstances.  It is not the message that we should simply accept the circumstances we are given and then give up hope (I don’t believe in giving up hope), but instead I feel led to accept what is right now.  

Accepting a situation for what it is right this moment does not mean it cannot change or all hope is lost.  Instead it means allowing it to be as it is now and not fighting it or resisting the reality for this moment.  Let me give you an example.  Yesterday when I received notification that my poems were not selected for publishing I was fairly disappointed at first.  Part of me was resisting the reality of the matter because I wanted them to be published so badly and I even found myself resisting the disappointment.  The reality for the moment was that the poems would not be published right now.  The reality was that I was disappointed and no matter how hard I fought those facts, they were not going to change, at least not at that time.  The best choice was to accept it as is.  My partner was actually the person that helped remind me of the choice I had to focus on the positive, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t allow the feeling of disappointment to be there. I just had to choose not to allow it to take over.  And that is what I did.

This idea of acceptance came in another conversation regarding accepting people for who they are, not who you wish them to be.  Often times I have the ability to see the potential in people even when they ate not living up to it or can’t see it in themselves.  Yet sometimes I expect too much and instead if accepting who that person is right now, I fight against it by setting expectations that I know they won’t reach (at least right now).  This is a rocky road to tread on because it almost always leads to disappointment on my part.

So how does this apply to accomplishing our dreams?  In my opinion by accepting what is right now we are allowing ourselves to  free up some of our much-needed energy by letting go of the resistance and allowing things to be as they are.  It doesn’t mean we can’t change it because sometimes we can, but there are also times when we must learn to let go. I am not suggesting we let go of the possibility of our dreams, but instead letting go of the way we wish our dreams to meet reality.  While we may believe we know the best way, or the most realistic way for our dreams to come true, the truth is we don’t know all the ways and sometimes the best way, is to let go just a little bit and allow life to be magical again.

Why spend so much time resisting the things we can’t change right this instant, when acceptance can be so freeing?  I know it’s easier said than done, but I believe it is worth the practice to accept what is and open our hearts and minds to other possibilities.

What will you accept today?

The other side of Rejection

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As a writer much of the writing process revolves around getting your writing published and in order to get accepted, you usually have to go through a lot of rejection.  And while some people can take the rejection in stride as they move onto their next project, I am still learning to look on the bright side.

Today I received an email stating several of my pieces that were under review for possible greeting cards had been rejected.  This isn’t the first time I have received a rejection, and while I am generally a little disappointed, I am usually able to move onward and upward.  Today was a little different.

Over the last few weeks I have been feeling like good news was just around the corner.  I just knew the next time I heard from the greeting card company, that I would be getting several pieces published.  I even had a number in my head of how many I felt were going to be published and a vivid picture of the check I would receive.  Imagine my disappointment when instead of getting a check in the mail, I got a rejection via email.

I was slightly stunned.  I really felt with all of my being that I was going to end this year on a really high note with my writing.  I could just feel it.  I knew that something big was going to happen and since I didn’t have anything else currently in the works (writing wise), this had to be it. Right?  Surprised, disappointed, and feeling a little rejected, I retreated to my office to update my list of pending poems.  It was there I realized I had a choice to make.

I could either wallow in my disappointment, trying to figure out what was “wrong” with my poems, or I could choose to look at the bright side.

I decided to find something positive to focus on, so instead of focusing on the 5 poems that were just rejected, I decided to look at the ones I have still in the process.  I counted almost 75 poems still being considered and of those 75, about 10 are in the final review process and are one step closer to being published.  That is truly something to celebrate.  I also realized while I could choose to take these “rejections” personally, the truth is it’s really not personal and if I have any hope of publishing an article, or book one day, I have to develop a thicker skin.  The business side of writing is not for the weak at heart, and the easier it is for me to take the rejections now, the better I will be down the line.

So where does that leave my gut feeling that something good is waiting just around the corner?  It’s a little bit shaken, but still there.  I still have high hopes of ending this year on a good note with my writing and I have 2 months for that to happen, but if it doesn’t, I will choose to see the good in the situation, just as I did today.

The moral of this story is this: Dreams are magical and perfect creations in our imagination and as they begin to manifest in our reality, it may not always go as planned, but there will always be a choice to see the good in the situation.  And if you make the choice to give up on your dream because of the challenges you face, it probably wasn’t your true passion to begin with.

 

One of Those Moments

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I had one of those moments today,where my entire attention was drawn to a beautiful part of nature that many often miss or overlook.  I was in the kitchen and caught a glimpse of the sky outside the back door.  It was the most beautiful sky I had ever seen and while I wanted to capture it to look back at later, I knew no picture could encompass the beauty that I was looking at in that moment.

 

Instead of running for my camera, I walked outside to absorb as much of the beauty as I could.  I stared at the sky in awe and in deep gratitude for such an amazing show of colors.  Bright pinks, oranges, and lilacs graced the sky and I felt time stop.  In that moment I was in a trance, experiencing the moment for all that it was.  Not moving, not thinking, not worrying…simply being.

As the sun continued to descend and the colors began to fade, I realized I am becoming much more aware of these moments with each passing day.  Moments that stop me in my tracks and allow me to take a reprieve from my thoughts and just be.  In these moments I am fully awakened to what is before me, allowing all thought and worry to disappear if just for that moment.  And when that moment comes to an end, I am filled with a deep sense gratitude for the experience.

I am noticing these moments much more than I did before, and it gives me hope that I will soon be able to just be in every moment no matter what the moment brings and that brings joy to my soul.

Gratitude: Technology and Sharing

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As I began thinking of the many things I am grateful for this week, it became quite difficult to decide what I wanted to include in this post.  I am beginning to take note of more things I am grateful for each week and make a mental note in preparation for this post each week.  Not only has it turned my attention to the many blessings in my life, but also to the things that sometimes we tend to overlook and take for granted.  I am delighted to see how my weekly gratitude post is overflowing into the rest of my week and allows me to become more aware of the richness of my life and I certainly don’t mean monetary richness.

This week I am extremely grateful for technology and while I am far less “techy” than I am creative etc., I realize technology allows for us to connect in so many ways across vast distances.  A little over a year ago my family and I picked up and moved to SC where we didn’t know anyone but our realtor (who we found via the internet).  There was a part of me that panicked a bit at the thought of starting over again, and having to find a way to meet friends, acquaintances etc.  My sense of community has always centered around my workplace and the people I meet there in addition to my lifelong friends from back home.  This time my community building would be different since I work for a company remotely (a blessing in and of itself) and I don’t have the luxury of meeting people in an office setting.  At first I found this to be a frustration and somewhat of a concern, until I realized how many people I connect with on a daily basis via the internet.  In fact there are quite a few people I have “met” through other friends either by phone or via the web that I have yet to meet in person.  In the business world they call it networking, I call it human connection.  Many of my friends are people I would never have known had it not been for the wonderful technology that allows me to connect with some really incredible people many miles away.  I was reminded of that this week as I emailed, text messaged, and blogged with people all over the world.  For that I am so very grateful.

This week I am also grateful for sharing.  I was reminded of this thought at various times this week, but the one that stands out the most was motivated by nature.  I posted about my monarch messenger last week and since then I have had many other butterfly friends visit our mums on the front porch (sometimes 3 and 4 at a time).  Earlier this week as I was going to check the mail, I walked by the mums and saw a flurry of activity from various butterflies, bees, bubble bees and flies.  The butterflies stole the show with their beautiful orange, black, and yellow wings, but I was struck by the ability of all these little beings sharing the same space and how they managed to do it with ease.  I stood there for a moment just watching them fly from one flower to the next and was mesmerized.  When I initially bought the plant, I simply wanted to spruce up our front porch for the fall as I loved the cheerful feel of the yellow mums.  Little did I know, I was creating a meeting place of sorts for many insects to come together to share in the beauty for their own individual needs.  It reminds me of the importance of sharing and exchanging with one another.  I began thinking of ways to apply this concept of sharing in my own life and even managed to share a few ideas and websites that I thought might be helpful to others.  I realized that the butterflies, bees, and flies became my teachers this week and what an amazing lesson in sharing it was.

What are you grateful for this week?