What inspires me?

So, there's this wonderful idea going around about a gridblog. Don't know if I'm invited, but the topic of the week so INSPIRED me to think about inspiration in my life, I've decided to have a go at it regardless...

What inspires me? The topic caught my attention, because I think it's only half a question. Inspires me to what? To get up in the morning? To go for a run? To be a better person? Kellen inspires me to be a better person. The memory of the feeling of adrenalin inspires me to run. Thinking about all there is to be done today, usually inspires me to get up (but sometimes it makes me want to stay in bed.) I think the question was intended to go a little deeper than that though. So, I decided to look up more about the word INSPIRE.

From dictionary.com:
1. to fill with an animating, quickening, or exalting influence: His courage inspired his followers.
2. to produce or arouse (a feeling, thought, etc.): to inspire confidence in others.
3. to fill or affect with a specified feeling, thought, etc.: to inspire a person with distrust.
4. to influence or impel: Competition inspired her to greater efforts.
5. to animate, as an influence, feeling, thought, or the like, does: They were inspired by a belief in a better future.
6. to communicate or suggest by a divine or supernatural influence: writings inspired by God.
7. to guide or control by divine influence.
8. to prompt or instigate (utterances, acts, etc.) by influence, without avowal of responsibility.
9. to give rise to, bring about, cause, etc.: a philosophy that inspired a revolution.
10. to take (air, gases, etc.) into the lungs in breathing; inhale.

So I learned I inspire, because I inhale (yes, an irrelevant fact). I always thought that to inspire would be a positive thing, but I saw in the examples it can be negative (ie. to inspire a person with distrust). Here are the rephrased questions I considered after thinking about the word inspire. What fills me with animating influence? What arouses feelings and thoughts? What affects feelings and thoughts? What impels me?

The examples made me realize that I am inspired everyday: by things I see, things I hear, things I think... Seeing a truly needy person inspires me to be more generous and thankful. (I saw a mom picking out a sweater for her boy this morning at the Community Outreach and I thought about cleaning out the closets in the house that are overflowing and to be thankful for all that I have AND to not want more unneccessary things). Seeing someone who is hurting inspires me to pray more and to put things in my life into perspective. (A mother who cried and prayed for her daughter's struggles this morning at the Outreach). So really, people inspire me.

Memories, some good and some bad, can inspire me. (Memories of feeling far away from God or feeling lost make me want to deepen relationship with Jesus.) Thinking of others who are lost and how it must feel, make me want to share my faith with them. Thinking of Kellen, makes me want to live out my faith in truth so that he will see Jesus. So, once again in goes back to people.

I don't know if I've really explained myself in my examples and I don't know if I would if I continued on. But, I think it really is people that inspire me. Whether positive or negative experiences. And really, I guess it must go back to faith. Without faith and Jesus, I would view people differently. Now I guess I've come back to the easy answer that I didn't want to just give, because it seems to easy just to say...Jesus. Of course, while it may be easy to say he is my inspiration. It doesn't mean it is easy to follow through on all the things he inspires me to be and the way he inspires me to live. SO, its not really an easy answer after all.

Oh, yeah, I should say Ian inspires me too. (How could I forget him?) He has a zest for life that makes me want to enjoy life more. I guess I should have also talked about love. Love is very inspirational, without out it, I think all inspiration would be gone. Now I've lost my train of thought and realize I could rewrite this and something totally different would come out. More ideas, because so many things inspire me. So, trying to conclude...love, people, Jesus...all very inspirational. Hope this makes sense, cause I'm not even going to reread it or I doubt I'd post my mumblings...I'm going to hit publish...