You know that feeling you get when you watch a movie, see a slam poet, listen to a concert by your favorite artist? The feeling of pure inspiration, seemingly seeping into your veins as the seconds pass?
That is a feeling I live for. The one you feel for a few hours after the inspiration is present. I always feel like I could do anything in those few hours. Like I could write one of the greatest poems ever written, or create something that would make me worth remembering.
What we need to do to become our best selves is to make that feeling last more than a few hours. In fact, we must turn it into a way we feel for all of our lives. To transform what we wake up for in the morning from existence to deepened purpose. To serve ourselves that creative inspiration with our breakfast each morning. Day in. Day out. Every damn day.
You have to wake up at the crack of dawn and believe that you can accomplish anything that you wish to. You have to believe that whatever you hope to attain in life is right in front of you if you just get out and grab it. Some days you may have to work harder and some things are more difficult to obtain, but the choice is up to you.
You can be the poet that inspires others. You can be the positive influence in the world that you so desperately wish you could be. All that you need is the internal belief that you can do it, and the external confidence to show the world exactly who you are and why you’re here. You are not on this Earth to go through the motions of mundane life for eight or nine decades. You know that. You were made to impact this world just as much as it impacts you. You cannot just let things happen to you and watch your existence idly pass you by. Happiness and fulfillment will never be found in that way of living.
And letting inspiration only inspire you right when you stumble across it is not going to help. Let everything instill that goosebumps-all-over feeling. The sunrise painting colors all across the sky, a morning drive with your favorite song on the radio, a smile from a stranger on the sidewalk, your dog racing to the door when you get home from a long day, ten minutes of pure peace and quiet all to yourself. We forget that life resides in the small moments.
Life is like space. Yes, planets, stars, supernovas, and the like. The big moments in life are the planets. So maybe the day you graduate college is a planet, your wedding day is a planet, and so on. But all of the other little things just mentioned... those are stars. Those are the little stars that we so fondly look up into the sky to see. How they all have a slightly different shine, different size, and different distance away from you. But all together, they are beautiful and make up your own personal galaxy. And I would like to argue that they are even more beautiful than the planets because they are what tie everything together. They are what give everything meaning.
Those moments have got to make you believe in something. For me they do. Those stars are what I want to hang in my sky. Just from today alone, I’ve added so many stars. Waking up from sleeping in and seeing the sunlight stream in from my bedroom window, a great brunch that filled by stomach and my heart, a walk around a small town with one of my greatest friends, listening to music that makes me feel my heart beating in my chest with such intense feeling and connection, and a deep conversation with my significant other that made me realize how much greatness and love I have. That’s a lot of stars for one day.
Collect your stars and hang them high in your sky. Admire that beauty every single night. And, most importantly, let it inspire you for the rest of your days to come.
