Befriend yourself.

A good friend of mine speaks often of respecting people for where they are at and recognizing the growth that is to come in them. When we consider the foolishness in our personal past, we become thankful for the learning that has come and for that which is to come. It is important to recognize this lifelong process in others as well as in ourselves. Today this poem inspired me to remember to be a faithful friend to my past and future self.

Love After Love by Derek Walcott

The time will come
when, with elation
you will greet yourself arriving
at your own door, in your own mirror
and each will smile at the other's welcome,

and say, sit here. Eat.
You will love again the stranger who was your self.
Give wine. Give bread. Give back your heart
to itself, to the stranger who has loved you

all your life, whom you ignored
for another, who knows you by heart.
Take down the love letters from the bookshelf,

the photographs, the desperate notes,
peel your own image from the mirror.
Sit. Feast on your life.

A beautiful day in the neighborhood...

What can simple sincerity and passion get you? A 20 million dollar endowment to talk to kids about dealing with life in a positive way it seems...beautiful indeed!

Biblioburro!

"It's important because when your parents ask you to read a letter for them that they can't understand, you can read it to them. "

This man is breaking the cycle of illiteracy in his own community by bringing books via donkey to small villages. If THAT'S not inspiring....

Vidspiration

Catch this kid's fire!

"The Downeaster Alexa"

I can't get this out of my head:

Billy Joel wrote a song about the hard life of fishermen on Long Island. It's beautiful and powerful. Maybe 99% of the world doesn't care about how hard it is to "make a living as a bay man"...but to those who have those troubles, it's validation and respect.

Music is a wide street to understanding and shared experience. And in this case, it's an amazing gift to honor the hardship of another with a piece of art that says, "I know you have it rough."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDQ04uHn9nE
(embedding not allowed, but it's worth the click.)

the first spark...

A deep thinking good friend inspired me recently with his amazing list of things that inspire him. What if we all made such a list? Or at least allowed ourselves to be inspired more often?

So then, lets post random inspirations to get us thinking and creating... hopefully they'll spark something!