Cultivating Inspiration

We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.

Martin Luther King Jr.

Inspiration is like a thriving plant; it requires certain basic conditions in order to live and flourish. We cannot create sustained inhospitable conditions and expect our plants to blossom, bloom and generally show us their glorious potential unless these preconditions are met. They are immutable, these thriving plant laws. My friend Sarah can explain what they are - all I know is that I can tell when my plants are happy versus suffering under my neglectful hand.

We humans are living in a state that is currently inhospitable to thriving. I reply to this reality with a defiant - “So what?” We are not hot house plants that have EVER lived in ideal conditions. We are all unsettled by a global pandemic and all the questions that surround its potential for harm and the best way to beat this thing. We sit in very different seats as the world churns over issues of equality and justice for all. As we accept our own versions of “finite disappointment” (which is different for each of us), where is the hope? I have no idea, but I have three suggestions:

1. Unite and support our collective disappointment without agreeing on the nature of it. Disappointment awareness might allow us to be kinder and more empathetic towards each other.

2. Survive. Take a nap; eat ice cream once in a while; pay attention to what you need for survival (forget about thriving right now).

3. Don’t make things worse. Keep all your certainties to yourself. Don’t poke at people; don’t try to win converts. Only if you have awesome skill sets of reconciliation should you be piping up. And for heaven’s sake, limit your social media presence to what is helpful (as defined by your enemy, not your friends). And just to beat a dead horse let me reiterate: If you feel smug or have a smirk on your face? Stop tweeting, talking, posting or instagramming and go stick your head in a pail of ice cold water. Now is NOT the time to talk trash.

When you pass through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.

Isaiah 43:2