Inspiration is simple yet profound. It occurs in various ways, not just the ‘aha’ moment.
Vision: In fourth grade, I read Little Women and was inspired by how Jo followed her dream. If she can do it, I can do it, so I made three decisions. One, become a teacher. Two, travel to Europe. Three, marry and start a family. By age twenty-eight, these visions were achieved.
Motivation: What motivated me to get an education? I did not want to be like Mom who struggled as a single mother raising four children on a typist’s salary. Get a degree!
Spur: Watching a student when a concept clicked, spurred me on to think of as many ways as possible to teach the kids in my classroom. I am a visual learner, but I also researched other methods and activities to engage the students in learning.
Idea: I give my husband, Ken, an outline of my idea for a poster or project and he expands on it. Without fail, he enhances the idea far beyond my bare explanation.
Spark: An idea sparks from the back burner of my mind and all at once, words flow for my writing. Love that spark!
Brainstorming and Creativity: Tossing out ideas for a newsletter no matter how wild or improbable. Best newsletter: fifth grade Sunday School class who ran with a few ideas and wrote great articles and advertisements appropriate for biblical times.
Incentive: Performing a terrifying act like zip lining across several deep chasms (where my proverbial life flashed before my eyes). The incentive was to face my fear of heights. It was fun; scary, but fun.
Revelation: An act of kindness gives me a new perspective. The child who quietly gets down on the rug to play with a lone classmate who is out of his wheelchair revealed a kind heart.
Stimulus: Children’s giggles and total concentration are stimulating when I tell stories, especially participation stories like, The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything. “Again!” they cry, and I searched my brain for other stories to share.
Inspiration in its myriad forms is deeply satisfying.
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