What is Inspiration?

greenfire

Tue, Jan 16 2007, 11:01 pm

Inspiration is different to everyone. While one person may go to listen to a bunch of divrei torah and say ah this is inspiration. Another person may just see a light in someone eyes by a simple gesture from the heart. What is inspiration to you?

chocolate moose

Wed, Jan 17 2007, 10:26 am

It's not very spiritual, but when it was discovered that I had a thyroid problem and was ordered to lose weight for my health, that was my wake up call!

Ruchel

Wed, Jan 17 2007, 11:10 am

Anything that touches me.

HealthCoach

Wed, Jan 17 2007, 11:13 am

What would you like to be inspired to do?

For non-spiritual goals, I find memories to be inspirational. I remember how I used to be successful at something, and now I'm having a hard time. I try to get things back to the way they were.

For non-spiritual goals, I find other people inspirational. If someone else could do something, why can't I? Then I try to do it also.

For spiritual goals, I find davening, music, and reading to be very inspiring.

Sometimes I focus on a goal all the time (I guess some would call that obsessive) to become inspired. If it's a little harder for me than someone else, it takes more time and effort.

greenfire

Wed, Jan 17 2007, 11:17 am

I'm looking for inspirational stories: I know this may seem silly but I was at a convention and wasn't really into all the speeches. what inspired me the most was the face of a man who worked in the hotel who felt connected to his roots with this convention. so I said go check it out and he went to daven kabolas shabbos - by the end of the convention he was still glowing and the yiddishe neshama was shining so bright that I couldn't help myself and gave him shabbos candles for his wife. I am NOT one of those people who do this normally and so anyway that inspired me more than anything else.

HealthCoach

Wed, Jan 17 2007, 11:56 am

There are tons of things that have inspired me. I'm still not sure exactly what kind of inspiration you are looking for, but I'll answer as best as I can. The song higher and higher by Yehuda has inspired me, and so has the following story from "Impact" by Dovid Kaplan. I read it on Eichler's website and made a note to get the book. Interestingly enough, I extracted it from an email I sent to someone about how I used this story in a certain situation, and how it has helped.

A man once walked into a rabbi's office and told the rabbi he was having
a faith crisis. The rabbi asked him what the problem was.

"You see, Rabbi, I'm phenomenally wealthy. I have three sons who are all
phenomenally wealthy, and I have three sons-in-law who are phenomenally
wealthy. I don't see any way that Hashem could make me destitute. Even
if I lost my money, my sons would support me. If they lost their money,
my sons-in-law would support me. Barring any sort of global apocalypse,
which God would not bring about just to make me poor, I don't see any
way for His hand to strike me down financially."

The rabbi said, "You shouldn't talk that way. Hashem can do anything."

"Well, Rabbi, what can I tell you?"

"Okay, consider yourself warned."

The man walked out of the rabbi's office. As soon as he got into the
street he felt an overwhelming urge to convert to Christianity. He had
never felt that way in his life. He walked down to the local church and
knocked on the door. The priest answered. Seeing a religious Jew
standing in front of him, he said impatiently, "What do you want?"

"I want to embrace your religion."

"What do you really want?"

"Seriously."

"All right," said the priest. "To prove your sincerity you'll have to
sign over all your material possessions to the church."

He pulled out a form and gave it to him. The man signed, "I, Yankel
Fischer, sign over all my possessions to the Church."

The priest put the document in his desk drawer and told Yankel, "Come
back tomorrow at noon and we'll baptize you."

Yankel walked out of the church. As soon as he hit the street, the urge
to convert left him. Aghast, he thought to himself, What have I done?
I'm penniless because I signed over all my possessions to the church.
When my sons find out they'll sit shivah for me. My sons-in-law will
disown me. I am destitute!

He hurried back to the rabbi and said, "Rabbi, I'm having a faith
crisis."

"Haven't we been through this once today?"

"Rabbi, I have a problem. I'm absolutely penniless and destitute and I
can't see any way for Hashem to extricate me."

The rabbi said to him, "Do you believe?"

"Oh, I believe."

"You really believe?"

"Oh, I really believe."

They suddenly heard a fire engine go by. There was a fire in the church
and the whole place burned down with the priest inside. No more church,
no more paper, no more priest, no evidence. Yankel was right back to
where he started.

COMMENT: HaKadosh Baruch Hu has many ways to change life situations. We
often see no way out and give up hope. Sometimes, we can see no way that
things can turn bad. One must realize, though, that HaKadosh Baruch Hu
is hakol yachol.

greenfire

Thu, Jan 18 2007, 10:01 pm

Okay - nice
what about things that happen to us - today - that are inspirational to you

HealthCoach

Fri, Jan 19 2007, 3:15 pm

I'll think about this over shabbos. One thing I find very inspirational is if I daven for something, and then it happens. If you want my personal stories I can pm you, but I don't want to post them.

Ruchel

Sun, Jan 21 2007, 1:06 pm

I like inspirational stories when they are not too "cheesy". But my problem is that I often wonder if they really happened, especially when the same story is told about R'X, R'Y and R'Z...

Esther23

Fri, Mar 09 2007, 12:34 am

I usually get inspired from reading Jewish books (hashgacha pratis stories, emunah books...) and from articles about gedolim's lives. Also when I read about Jewish life in other era's. Just reading how hard almost every other generation had it, and how good life is for our generation inspires me to become better and take advantage of our spiritual wealth available.

Try reading Reb. Jungreis book "Life is a test", very, very inspirational.