what inspires you? what touches your soul at its darkest moment?

[meemee]

well nothing does initially. in all these years i have found i have to live with the fear, anger, frustration, sadness for a while and then .... something happens. a piece of music, a book, a movie or poetry or even the words from my dd's mouth, or a flower, tree, something just speaks to me.

so i thought we would all share anything that inspires us and changes our perspective. anything that touches deep within us and makes us feel alive.

i would love to hear that. even if it meant you went dancing and came home exhausted but somehow rejuvinated.

so here it is. a poem from a poet who deeply inspires me.


Self Portrait

It doesn't interest me if there is one God
Or many gods.
I want to know if you belong -- or feel abandoned;
If you know despair
Or can see it in others.
I want to know
If you are prepared to live in the world
With its harsh need to change you;
If you can look back with firm eyes
Saying "this is where I stand."
I want to know if you know how to melt
Into that fierce heat of living
Falling toward the center of your longing.
I want to know if you are willing
To live day by day
With the consequence of love
And the bitter unwanted passion
Of your sure defeat.
I have been told
In that fierce embrace
Even the gods
Speak of God.

~ David Whyte ~

(Fire in the Earth)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hq2NfrNt9EU (another poem in there called Everything is waiting for you - its beautiful)

[simplemama32]

Well, I'm inspired daily by the people here on MDC...so many eloquent, wise mama's (and dads!). (Meemee, your posts are actually a huge inspiration to me, so thank you!)

IRL, it's the tiny things, the moments that go almost unnoticed, that touch me the most. I think one of the reasons I love photography so much is that it allows you to preserve those little moments and glimpses that would otherwise be forgotten...the way the sunlight falls across the floor, the sparkle of raindrops on a flower, the way my son nestles so trustingly into me when he falls asleep.

There are a lot of photographers, writers, and bloggers out there who inspire me SO much. I actually just finished up Susannah Conway's online Unravelling course and...wow. Just...wow.

Movies, books, music...yes, yes, and yes. Too many to recall here, but I just started reading Oriah's The Dance, and it looks very, very promising. The poem you shared actually reminds me of her writing very much.

[grisandole]

great poem, thanks for sharing

[Mama Soltera]

That was a great poem. Just what I needed to hear (or rather, read). I will say newborn babies. A newborn human baby just kills me everytime. Takes my breath away (though, it kind of hurts my lady organs too). And babies of all kinds: chicks, puppies, even deer and piglets, they get me every time. Nature also. Getting away from civilization and being solely in nature and seeing its beauty always touches me. Sometimes a good book or movie can do the trick. Sometimes a really beautiful man too.