
Category Archives: Inspiration
On Being Human

On Wednesdays, I share posts, fables, songs, poems, quotations, TEDx Talks, cartoons, and books that have inspired and motivated me on my writing journey. I hope these posts will give writers, artists, and other creatives a mid-week boost.

In her signature book, If Life is a Game, These are the Rules, behavioral scientist and bestselling author Dr. Chérie Carter-Scott expands on the following:

The Wisdom of Kintsukuroi

On Wednesdays, I share posts, fables, songs, poems, quotations, TEDx Talks, cartoons, and books that have inspired and motivated me on my writing journey. I hope these posts will give writers, artists, and other creatives a mid-week boost.

In her bestselling book, A Year of Positive Thinking, inspirational speaker Cyndie Spiegel shares daily meditations. Here’s one of my favorites:
Kintsukuroi is a kind of Japanese ceramic style. The word Kintsukuroi means “to repair with gold.” In the Kintsukuroi tradition, when a ceramic piece breaks, an artisan will fuse the pieces back together using liquid gold or gold-dusted lacquer. So rather than being covered up, the breaks become more obvious, and a new piece of art emerges from the brokenness.
Kintsukuroi embraces flaws and imperfection, but it also teaches the essence of resilience. Every crack in a ceramic piece is part of its history, and each piece becomes more beautiful because it has been broken.
You will fall.
You will fail.
You will break.
You will stand up and dust yourself off.
You will repair yourself again and again.
And eventually, though you will be different than before, you will again become whole.
You will be even more beautiful precisely because of all of this.
You will be a better person because of your imperfections, not in spite of them.
Source: A Year of Positive Thinking by Cyndie Spiegel

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Trust Your Intuition

On Wednesdays, I share posts, fables, songs, poems, quotations, TEDx Talks, cartoons, and books that have inspired and motivated me on my writing journey. I hope these posts will give writers, artists, and other creatives a mid-week boost.

Each Sunday, I receive an inspirational email from Reid Tracy, the CEO of Hay House. I found this recent message a thought-provoking one:
According to Louise Hay, intuition is our inner voice (or “Inner Ding,” as she called it), which speaks to us through feelings, sensations, and gut instincts. By paying attention to these signals, we can make decisions that align with our highest good and avoid situations that don’t serve us.
Dr Joe Dispenza argues that intuition isn’t some mystical force, but a natural ability we all have—a product of the subconscious mind, which processes information at a much faster rate than our conscious mind. By learning how to tap into the power of our subconscious, we can access our intuition and use it to achieve our goals and live a more fulfilling life.
So, how can we learn to trust our intuition? Here are some tips inspired by the teachings of Louise and Dr Joe:
Listen to your body: Pay attention to how you feel physically when making decisions. Does your stomach feel tight or relaxed? Do you feel a sense of excitement or dread? These physical sensations can give you clues about what’s right for you.
Practice mindfulness: Mindfulness is the practice of being present in the moment without judgment. By cultivating mindfulness, we can quiet our minds and connect with our inner wisdom. Take a few moments each day to sit quietly, breathe deeply, and tune in to your intuition.
Journal: Writing down your thoughts and feelings can help you get clarity about what you truly want. Use journaling as a tool to explore your inner landscape and connect with your intuition.
Take inspired action: Fear is one of the biggest obstacles to trusting our intuition. So, work toward overcoming fear by taking action when you feel inspired or excited about something—that’s your intuition talking. Start small and take note of the outcome when you act. Soon you’ll learn to trust your intuitive nudges.
Happy International Women’s Day!
Sharing Rumi Wisdom

On Wednesdays, I share posts, fables, songs, poems, quotations, TEDx Talks, cartoons, and books that have inspired and motivated me on my writing journey. I hope these posts will give writers, artists, and other creatives a mid-week boost.

Rumi (born Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Rūmī) was a 13-century Persian poet, Islamic scholar, and Sufi mystic. One of the most accomplished poets of all time, his musings on life, love, and the mysteries of the universe continue to resonate worldwide.
Here are ten of my favorite Rumi quotes:
Raise your words, not voice. It is rain that grows flowers, not thunder.
The garden of the world has no limit except in your mind.
The universe is not outside of you. Look inside yourself; everything that you want, you already are.
Let yourself be silently drawn by the strange pull of what you love. It will not lead you astray.
It’s your road, and yours alone, others may walk it with you, but no one can walk it for you.
As you start to walk on the way, the way appears.
You are not meant for crawling, so don’t. You have wings. Learn to use them and fly.
Start a huge, foolish project, like Noah…it makes absolutely no difference what people think of you.
Work. Keep digging your well. Water is there somewhere.
Whether one moves slowly or with speed, the one who is a seeker will be a finder.
To Remember During the Bad Days

On Wednesdays, I share posts, fables, songs, poems, quotations, TEDx Talks, cartoons, and books that have inspired and motivated me on my writing journey. I hope these posts will give writers, artists, and other creatives a mid-week boost.

In The Comfort Book, bestselling author Matt Haig shares little parcels of hope. Here’s an inspiring passage I like to read on challenging days:
It won’t last.
You have felt other things. You will feel other things again.
Emotions are like weather. They change and shift. Clouds can seem as still as stone. We look at them and hardly notice a change at all. And yet they always move.
The worst part of any experience is the part where you feel like you can’t take it anymore. So, if you feel like you can’t take it anymore, the chances are you are already at the worst point. The only feelings you have left to experience are better than this one.
You are still here. And that is everything.
Source: The Comfort Book, p. 28.
Start Walking

On Wednesdays, I share posts, fables, songs, poems, quotations, TEDx Talks, cartoons, and books that have inspired and motivated me on my writing journey. I hope these posts will give writers, artists, and other creatives a mid-week boost.

Here’s an inspirational cartoon from Caro Martini:

Honoring Burt Bacharach
Legendary composer Burt Bacharach died yesterday at age 94.
His songs could fit anywhere from Hollywood to Broadway, and they have never faded away. He has often been described as the “unapologetic epitome of cool.”
During his illustrious career, he scored over 50 chart hits in the United States and the United Kingdom, with artists including Frank Sinatra, Perry Como, Dionne Warwick, Barbra Streisand, Tom Jones, Aretha Franklin, Elvis Costello, and The Beatles all recording his songs.
The winner of three Oscars, two Golden Globes, and six competitive Grammy Awards, Burt Bacharach was hailed as music’s “greatest living composer” when he accepted the Grammy Lifetime Achievement honor in 2008.

My favorite quotations from Burt Bacharach:
Music breeds its own inspiration. You can only do it by doing it. You may not feel like it, but you push yourself. It’s a work process. Or just improvise. Something will come.
Never be ashamed to write a melody that people remember.
What the world needs now is love, sweet love, It’s the only thing that there’s just too little of.
The groovy thing about pop music is that it’s wide open. Anything can happen.
For me, it’s about the peaks and valleys of where a record can take you. You can tell a story and be able to be explosive one minute, then get quiet as kind of a satisfying resolution.
It wasn’t about writing songs to dance to. It was about recording music that felt right. I wanted to make it palatable. There are no guarantees.
You shouldn’t hold on to the past too much, even the good stuff.
Knowing when to leave may be the smartest thing anyone can learn.
My favorite song: