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Inspiration is right in your backyard....





If you are looking for inspiration, you need go no further than your backyard. Simply go out and talk to people or call your relatives and call your friends. Talk about THEM for a change, and listen. If you listen, the universe will speak to you. Inspiration, your muse, is hiding just around every corner - waiting for you to ask your questions and to open your ears to hear the answers.



Usually, I find that profound inspiration comes in threes. Today’s inspiration was cleverly disguised as one of my physician’s nurses, an exhausted checkout clerk at Home Depot, and with no surprise, my grandmother.



To me, the nurse represented OPPORTUNITY. Here was an older woman navigating her way swimmingly through life; going to back school, studying for and passing exams (despite being plagued with terrible exam jitters, as she admits) and still putting in practical hours at the local doctor’s office. The nurse represented the idea that it is never too late to become what you want to be. If only you can overcome your fears and commit to working and putting in the time, believe it or not… you find that you can still achieve your dreams.



To me, the Home Depot clerk represented the LABOR. A young clerk was putting in extra holiday hours and working two jobs. I thought, “Well, he must be doing it to support his children.” So I inquired further and asked him, “WHY?”



He replied, "Just to make a better life for myself." He said he wants better things in his life, a nice apartment, nice clothes and furniture, and so he has decided to put in the extra effort to work hard for what he wants.



I asked, "You don’t have any kids? No wife? There is no one that you are supporting?"



"No," he said "Only me."



He was working so hard simply because he WANTED to. Not because he was forced to do it, not because there was some court order that mandated a payoff amount for some judgment; not because of some guilt complex.... He was working for himself, simply because he had the desire to get what he wants in life.



Finally, a third façade of inspiration presented itself in the same day from my grandmother. My grandmother represented the ideal of TENACITY. Let me tell you, if you ever want to feel like the sorriest sod in the world, then just listen to what your elders have to say.



My grandmother told me about a time when she lived in a wooden house, a shack more or less, with no insulation, in Minnesota. She said that their children slept in a back room while she and my grandfather slept on the porch, in the winter. She said because the porch was her bedroom, she would wake up some days with FROST on her blankets.



Now, after listening to that story, don't I feel like a pansy? I’m worried about getting a little bit cold as winter approaches while we are living in a one-hundred year old fixer-upper house where we have just put in insulation, we're starting to seal up the drywall, and we're using two kerosene heaters for heat. My grandmother’s words made me realize that we are pampered little crybabies compared to our elders.



Now, if I could just invoke a little bit of what I learned today... I'm sure I won't have any more trouble with motivation, optimism or tenacity while working my job or piecing together this little house. If indeed I still falter and end up stuck in weak moments, I certainly don't have any right to complain about it.







-Rebekah Faith



Rebekah Faith, author of “Picking up the Pieces” is an inspirational columnist. She works as an offshore development manager; she moonlights as a writer, and is also currently working with friends and family, rebuilding a one hundred year old house. You can find samples of her other literary works and inspirational pieces at http://www.RebekahFaith.com.

Yes, my friends, there is actually a pie in the sky. It was made especially for you. It is your favorite flavor, your favorite crust, your favorite temperature. It is your pie, you can eat as much of it as you want and not get fat. It is all yours and you don't have to share it with anyone.



Now, all you have to do to get your pie in the sky is build a set of stairs, climb your stairs, and when you are within arm's reach, reach out your hand and take it.



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First thing is first, you must figure out what the design of your stairs will be. If you don't know the first thing about stairs, you might want to do a little research on that. Find a mentor who has managed to build a set of stairs to reach his pie, and find out what needs to be done.



Next, you will need to finance your stairs. You need to buy the wood, the screws, the joints, the tools, etc. You will need to account for any miscalculations or damaged goods. You might need to buy more wood, or even a few extra tools. You might need to patch or replace some broken tools. You might need to re-asses your budget, so that you can have the finances you need to build your stairs to your pie. Ask yourself, What do you want more? Car payments for the next 10 years, or would you rather drive a used car and use the finance payments to instead build a set of stairs to reach your pie?



Next, and this I believe is the hardest step for most, you need to put in the hours. The actual work required to construct the stairs. You may find that you've worked really hard for days, weeks or even months, and you pull out your protractor and your compass, your GPS, and find that your stairs are not even going to line up with your pie. So you need to make sure that you still have the financing to deconstruct, buy new materials, and rebuild your stairs in the right direction. You need to have backup plans, backup means to continue to build your stairs, backup sustinence to keep you going until you reach your pie. You may need to carefully balance your time, carefully ration your efforts so that you have enough for the present, and also to finance your pie aquiring project.



Building your stairs to reach your pie takes daily effort. Daily effort, and bi-weekly reassessment. It means you must know what you are working for, and keep working at it every day, not just every day for a month, but every day for years! Time management on the pie aquiring project must be carefully planned. You want to make sure that you can work on this project for the long term. You want to make sure that you don't run, buy all of your materials, build for a month and then give up. You want to make sure you have balance of your current life, your time to rest, and your plans for the future. With proper planning, and careful pacing, you can and you will be able to reach your pie.



Your pie is right there, right above you, right up there in the sky. All you need to do is get to it. There are many people in the world who would say, "You mean I can have that pie... I can have that 1 million dollar house, I can have that $50K car, I can have that boat, and all I have to do is WORK for it?"



"I'm all over that!"



-Rebekah Faith