Where do you look for inspiration?

People say it’s everywhere. But I find this to be oft untrue.

Inspiration doesn’t apply to just the creatives of the world.
To the contrary, it applies to the world in general.

The conviction to find a raison d'être, to face the day, to make it count. To strive, to succeed and sometimes, to struggle. To be the best version of yourself you can possibly be and give your day, the tribute it deserves. 

There are days when I cannot find inspiration, no matter how hard I try. 
These are times I am tired – often physically, sometimes emotionally. When I have spent my day ticking all sorts of boxes on a never-ending list of must-do’s, try-to-do’s and oh-crap-how-did-I-forget-to-do’s.
When I try to be everything to everyone but I fall short. When the light in my corner shines rather dimly and I run out of hope in the goodness of anything. When I no longer believe that the world is as perfect as I hope it to be.

On these days, I find nothing.
Nothing but silence. Emptiness. Disappointment. Darkness.

Then there are other days.
Where happiness literally hits you in the face and you can’t get an old radio jingle out of your head. Peanut butter blueberry sandwiches for breakfast and hidden minutes of random reading. Memories are made by the dozen and every second of tomorrow holds promise by the truckloads.

But what changed, between these dismal days and the happy ones? The ‘everywhere’ that I was supposed to find inspiration in, stayed the same.
But me…I changed.

It is the hardest thing, to find a reason to be happy every day.
I have found that we all have moments where darkness creeps in. And it is not pathetic or lame, or a sign of weakness. It’s just how we feel sometimes…and that’s okay.
It’s our signal to reach out to people who care, no matter how few they are, or how far they are. We ask for help. We say a prayer. We make a call to an old friend. We play a song that plays a memory.
And sometimes, we don’t do anything, except believe tomorrow will be better. Because even when we have nothing, we have faith.

It is the hardest thing, to find a reason to be happy every day.
Perhaps ‘happy’ is pushing it. Maybe ‘thankful’ is a better fit. Thankful for family, friends, moments, melodies. For faith and love and trust and kindness.
For me, inspiration lies here.

Thankful, I can do. I hope you can too.