Be Inspired ~ Inspiration Comes Slowly

Be Inspired from Annette Bridges

“Inspiration comes to us slowly and quietly…prime it with a little solitude.” -Brenda Ueland Click To Tweet

Coming across this quote was just what I needed to hear!

My life doesn’t lend itself to much solitude lately. Many days I feel like I’m coming and going at the same time. I feel pulled in different directions. And I struggle to do the impossible feat some called multi-tasking.

I long to hear the still, small voice the Bible speaks of.  Those divine utterances that I’m certain will give me the answers I long for and the comforting reassurance I desperately need.

These words remind me how I can hear and feel the inspiration I’m longing for. I need to give myself the gift of solitude. Hush the worry. Hush the to-do list. Hush the fretting and running and jumping through hoops. 

Pause. Be still. Do nothing. Relish in the quiet. Take slow deep breaths.

Embrace solitude.

Ah yes…

Inspiration was waiting for me to be still and quiet long enough to hear and feel it.

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Be Inspired ~ Perhaps Your Answer is Simply To Begin

Be Inspired from Annette Bridges

“Don’t waste time waiting for inspiration. Begin, and inspiration will find you.” – H. Jackson Brown Jr. Click To Tweet

Some of you know that I wrote a weekly editorial column that was published in numerous Texas newspapers, magazines and websites. During that decade, I can’t tell you how many columns began with me having no idea what I was going to write about. I would open up the blank word document on my laptop and gaze upon the screen and ponder, “What now?”

I had deadlines to meet.

There were those lovely weeks when something had prompted my inspiration and it was easy to sit down and let the ideas flow effortlessly. And then there were other weeks when I had no idea where my inspiration would come from.

I didn’t have time to waste waiting for inspiration to come to me, however.

So I would begin. I would literally just start typing whatever was on my mind having no idea where it was going to take me or if it would spark the inspiration I needed to create the column.

What I can tell you is this. Inspiration always came. And each week I was left awestruck.

I guess that’s why today in all of my endeavors I refer to myself as a jumper. As ideas come, I act and let inspiration find me and take me where it wants to go. I don’t sit around waiting and wondering what to do next. And I’m still awestruck as I witness the evolution of an idea and how inspiration molds, shapes, and refines it.

So my friends, perhaps your answer is simply to BEGIN. Act. Move forward. Try it. Do it. Let your story unfold and evolve. You don’t need to know how your story ends first and you will never know if you don’t BEGIN.

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Be Inspired ~ Try to Love the Questions

Be Inspired from Annette Bridges

Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves. -Rainer Maria Rilke Click To Tweet

I’ve always loved asking myself questions and have never been one to avoid them. So when I read a phrase like “try to love the questions themselves” my first reaction might be “no problem!”

The first part of this quote is another matter. “Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart.” Patience has never been my greatest asset in my humble opinion and yet when does our life not demand patience of us?

Where my impatience happens is when my heart knows what I need and outside circumstances keep me from moving forward and taking action.

Yet if I have no control over a situation, there really is no other alternative than to embrace patience along with acceptance.

I guess my lesson and suggestion to myself and anyone else these days is this. Be patient with yourself always. Things in your life are not always in your control. Time may be required for solutions to be realized. There may be things that go unsolved for a season.

I am accepting that grace is needed. Give yourself patience and loving care. Be gentle and tender with your heart when it is weary and uncertain. Welcome the questions. Love them. There will be a question that leads to receiving the answer you long for.

I’m also learning to accept the idea that some answers to questions may not be what I want or wish for. These are usually the questions that involve loved ones. Sometimes I tend to make questions that really belong to others my own. Their answers may not be what I want them to be. But their journey in life is theirs – not mine. Another lesson I’m learning to accept.

I guess when talking with your heart and considering what is unsolved in your heart, we need to be sure the questions are ones that are about us and for us – not others. I think I tend to give more attention to the needs of others and confuse their needs with my own. They are not the same my friends.  Perhaps the word that needs the most pondering in this quote is YOUR.

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