Inspiration-what is it?

What is inspiration, how do you know when you are inspired, what is its root, how does it come about? To the first question a dictionary should have a meaning, second psychologist or psychological studies should be able to point you in the right direction. I am constantly looking to be inspired, from anything around me whether organic or inorganic; dead or alive. It is very random how it comes to one, I’d be watching a TV show and a certain scene makes me feel something; and there it is, inspiration—a burst of fleeting moments that can potentially or drastically change one’s life and fortunes (not that I believe in luck).

Back when I started writing I’d be in my sleep and suddenly wake up to an idea for a piece; without a thought I’d wake up and scribble whatever got me up onto my note book, the next morning I would edit the piece. That’s how I got hit by inspiration back then, now it is emotions relating to an event or something. Now, why am I writing a piece on inspiration when there has been so much already, what different angel do I bring to this subject; the answer is “nothing”, I obviously have not matured or am not learned enough to be issuing opinion on such a heavy subject.

I have read some of these “inspirational” books and relating quotations from all over, I still do not understand how they are supposed to get one inspired; in true sense, my experience in a particular subject is only knowledge to how you would experience the same thing. Only a select few of these quotations have sunk in and caused a stir within me: “Everything you do in life will be insignificant...but it's very important that you do it.”—Ghandi; in some portion it echoes the book of Ecclesiastes, “vanity of vanity.” Inspiration is not something that can be imparted like knowledge or passed on to someone, as I would define it; a spontaneous burst of excitement towards a certain idea or vision. With this excitement individuals decide how they act on them. We have heard of how the law of gravity came to be, an apple falling onto Einstein’s head. Looking at it you’d think—hang on, how did he know that the gravitation force is constant? That is inspiration right there, undefinable fleeting moments.

To answer the “why” question, simply; I got inspired to write about inspiration; what to write about inspiration was then just left to my creative writing imagination. The view I am trying to get across from this is rather than reading for inspiration why can’t we just think about it. Whenever I wanted to write something but not yet inspired, I’d start by mumbling random phrases that I think are poetic; from that I look around for ideas to encourage my soon to be inspiration. A lot, if not majority, of the things we do in life to some level require inspiration, hunger inspires cooking or buying food; problems inspire one to think of possible solutions.

Does reading inspirational books and quotations do for you, keep at it. Do you circumstance and situations instills inspiration in you, embrace such, hell; seek it as though your life depends on it, because up to a point it might save.

Cold feet: and the fear sets in!

Contrary to the title of this blog, I had a troubling dilemma before I could bring myself to writing this piece here. Perhaps I can confidently confess that I did not give much thought into the naming of the blog with a future picture in mind. Now coming to the subject:

I have heard and continue to hear people- mostly who are on the verge of making life changing decisions- say they are having cold feet; and I thought wait, its summer how can your feet be cold? What an unrelated imagery portraying decision making much in contrast to the disease or syndrome itself. Much these days translated into an emotional state that each of us constantly and unwillingly are entangled with – fear-. For some when it hits, it encourages the self-preservation mode in them, whereas in others it instils the drive to even go further or do more of what brought about the fear. Dependent on your personality trait, fear can squash or uplift you.

Finally in recent days, I too have been experiencing this “cold feet” syndrome, mainly because I made some life altering decisions. Now this being the first time ever, I found myself doubting, second guessing choices I was making; I guess that was the “self-preparatory” state that I in most instances under similar circumstances find peace in. Until I was showed with encouraging advices and life examples of similar cases to mine, I was in the deep to a point where reverting decisions I took seemed an option; but then I thought it would render me a spineless and faint-hearted person having to give in to the negativity from within and that of bitter lives.

Not that I would know a great deal about it, but in my few years in an attempt to acquire knowledge; I have learned that success is being put to the scale and measured in different units, quantity (what you have currently) and quality (will what you currently have last). Because we are so tuned to equating success with something, the instant we see a hint of failure or negativity in our paths; the fear sets in- hence the cold feet.

I guess what I am trying to get across is this that no matter what we do, how brave we are, or how good a front we can put up; whether publicly or privately the fear will set in regardless of the amount of time we might spend in such a state, it’s the how we get ourselves past that, that matters: much like the way how we decide to either cross the traffic lights on ember running or wait for the green man to wave us past in a relaxed walk.

We Stand And Watch

We Stand And Watch

Just three days into the year, dawning for the fourth; when suddenly in my sleep I hear screams from the street (girl' screams). What rings in my head while I lay asleep is: "it's only girl still celebrating they lived to see the New Year again", to my surprise the screaming is only getting louder and more desperate. So I jump off my bed look out the window and behold I saw to young lady (probably mid 20's), they are wrestling these two guys trying to rob them of their belongings. And there I was, looking down out the window in my floor flat room while these ladies are getting robbed. It then occurred to me, a question, what are these ladies doing out there at the time of the night all dressed up. Well I never got the answer to that and will never.

"Security, security" Screaming the ladies for the security at the gate of the flat to open for them or at least help scare the thugs away. However, the security has strict rule from his superiors not to open to anyone (include residence) who are in no possession of their personal access to the front gate. There he was, seating at his desk looking out baring witness to all this violence; he was struck down with a hard dilemma that he was never told nor taught on how to handle it. So he decides, its better I turn a blind eye than to get fired (-but I'm thinking, it's not like your (security) superiors are not around to see any of that-) or was it self-preservation; that if he goes out there he might end up a victim too? And he resorted to not opening the gate and still he watches not even thinking of going down to help.

The ladies are still hanging on to their bag, most probably because the thugs aren't any good of robbers or they were just taking chances because of gender (bloody chauvinist). To their rescue, came running this other guy from nowhere to chase the thugs away and to become the hero of ladies before dawn.

Nonetheless, all these crimes we witness walking be the alley ways, under those infamous bridges and we just stand and watch instead of landing a helping hand. Additionally we say the law enforcers are not doing their work when we don't even help out the kid being robbed in front of us.

Our society has shifted from the glory days we once had, play with your gadgets as you walk by the street corner and down those cagey alley ways; gone are those days. Perhaps we have brought these upon ourselves, I mean, a murder happen on your watch but when the police are in need of witnesses "nobody saw anything", hence the cop saying "how can we help a society that does not help itself".

It is rather saddening all these, we work and sweat for what we have but we have to live like caged animal locked inside afraid that criminal look alike might just break-in and steal away all you have. 

It is therefore upon ourselves to choose, whether we stand and watch or we send out a helping hand; next time you see a crime in progress, scream out loud, call the emergency line you might just spare someone's life.

Think about, Stand and Watch

Fulfilment

“Human motivation is based on people seeking fulfillment and change through personal growth,” Abraham Maslow, hence the hierarchy of needs.

Self-Actualization----------------------------------------/\

Esteem ------------------------------------------------/   \

Belonging----------------------------------------------/     \

Safety------------------------------------------------/       \

Physiology--------------------------------------------/­­­­         \

This is not an attempt at explaining the theory but rather a personal take on what it means. Maslow took Albert Einstein as his “subject” during his research as a fulfilled (Self-Actualized) individual. I wonder if one can ever get to declare they fulfilled, even with all the riches in the world, one will always look for more.

The Qoheleth, in the book of Ecclesiastes, says that all man’s work is in vain in that in the end it produces no permanent worth or benefits. Additionally, he goes on to say that no amount of pleasure, wealth and all the glory that man can have; can fulfill a person.

We have these moments in our lives, that we feel liberated from everything in the world; the lies, the worries and the constant fear we come to live with because there is no ultimatum. It is within these moments that we “can” say we are fulfilled, that in these moments we do not envy the success of others, that we get to give a helping hand to the needy so as to find their way up. He (Maslow) defined actualization in this view, that when we find ourselves in moments we feel no desire for self-preservation, the hunger to enrich ourselves more on the expense of others; we are in actual fact actualized.

“There is no end to work,” a paraphrased statement the Qoheleth used when explaining the insignificance of the lot work we sweat doing. There has never been a time in my little life, were I hear being declared that work is finished entirely and that there will not be a need for more. Look at the rich, the famous, and the wealthy; they all still look for more.

There are times when I look at the world and the things it offers and how much we have to work to get them; I just feel down. All that I have said in the above paragraphs is true for me and perhaps a whole lot other out there. Hence, within these moments of life, the little seconds we have between life and death; I begin to acknowledge the fact that there is greater power looking over us.

Blunt truths

The truth shall set you free. Though it “might” set you free, it will surely leave you battered and bruised. I am still with the belief that honesty (i.e. transparent honesty) in a relationship is a vital part, though it does not always guarantee the success of the relation based solely on it.

However, the very same blunt truths that we tell can become lethal weapons if we choose to use them in that manner. Think about it, a person does something that they know would not rest well with you and when you ask they tell you about it bluntly; is that not trying to say “you crowding my space”? On the other hand it could honestly mean trust and openness in the ‘relation’ the two shares between them. Therefore, with the two possibilities said; would it not be only fair to consider how the receiving part may react to the statements said? I recently was in the receiving end of such blunt truths, though there was nothing wrong with it, but the way it was projected left me in awe; wondering if this was the other option (using it as a push away weapon) because it pretty much sounded that way.

The blunt truth is said to be able to set free, does that apply to each and every situation? It will in most case put you in trouble worse than you were in before you told it, because the truth is designed to ‘hurt’ so to speak. Well, now that I have come to think of it, is there a truth that a lie does not pave way for? Not that I can think of any, it might not necessarily be an actual lie. I mean people say they did not tell the truth because they thought you could not handle it, but I say there probably was a lie/ action that the victim does not approve of that had been done before realizing that the finding out may cause a deeper cut than when confessed.

The blunt truths equals grave trust, provided its used in a polite way, it also however, can be a fearsome weapon given the intent to hurt is there. This is only my opinion though; probably I’m too young to know the full extent of blunt truth concerning “relations.”

A plan jinxes things

Let the dead bury the dead, and tomorrow to worry about itself. Two of the well known lines around the globe, that reminds us that though there's greater power above us; not everything will unfold accordingly as planned because we cannot control circumstance around and those we find ourselves in.

I do not believe there is a thing such as "it is going according to plan," things change instantly without even us noticing; but even the slightest of changes in a plan can jinx the whole thing to end up spiraling out of proportion that we even begin to think perhaps there is something against you and your plans when in actual fact there is not.

People say when you plan or are doing something you should always leave room for error, but I think as well the 'room for error' is another plan to get out of a failed plan.  I believe in plans - well not entirely at least - I think every living mortal has a plan though we might say we have no plan. Take it this way; you going to take a bath/shower at a specific time, is in itself a plan that you had unconsciously.

I had recently made a plan for something, only to find out that though the plan was flawless; I did not execute it due to the unexpected circumstances I found myself in while trying to follow through with the plan I had laid out. It made me realize that no matter how much effort we put into drawing up a perfect plan (so to speak) it is bound to go the other way.

I have a theory, that every movement off our bodies changes things drastically, let me explain it this way; if you look the other way, something is happening where you are not looking were as if you had been looking that direction it would not have happened the way it did or not happen at all. My Theory is that whatever we do, every movement, little lapse in concentration, it changes everything; including the future, be it the near or the distant future.

So that is my theory, that a plan jinxes things; no matter how much we yield it towards where we desire, it will somehow find a way to swing the pendulum in the other direction. So from now, I will try going by without explicitly laying out "plans" except those that are always there and bound to happen.

Issues: Choose well

Issues

“We live alone, we die alone.” I heard it somewhere, “We are born alone, we die alone” I know that for a fact. Would you conclude one who says that is clinically depressed, on what basis would your argument be set? One can stand to reason saying those are just statements guided by the obvious facts in life as you breathe. I seem to believe life presents itself as it should be but rather not how it is suppose to be, therefore surfacing the issue of fairness.

Someone once wrote: “Until I find out wt fairness really means, I'm hesitant on commenting weather life is fair or not......#Tentative” My response to that was “Life plays no favours therefore I conclude it’s fair”

And yet another would say I am ‘disturbed’ no I am not, I’m just being realistic. All is but in vain, learning, working, maintaining all kinds of ‘relationships’; in the end we all die. Would you say you know what your purpose in life is, how are you making manifestation of it to benefit all? That's what I have not figured out yet, these simple words –my purpose. 

How would one classify an issue, what does it look like, how big or small is it? All these are just questions you would need to ask yourself. I read once an issue is small and does not cause alter in one’s life. Does it not have an impact on your psychology or psychology on issues?  

We are born to live, and we live to serve a purpose; a purpose once served the item rendering it is dispose of or rendered redundant-which in actual fact means death! Think about it, weather you were or not aware of it; upon your death, your purpose has be well served therefore you are of no use breathing.

These are just some of the constant issues we live around but choose to ignore them, they will catch up eventually; they always do, we are just being ignorant and feeding ourselves with misguided idealistic goals and burnt hopes.

But this is just the thinking of one man- a nobody to everybody.