Finding inspiration in everything

Inspiration. It is so necessary to have it, but where does it come from? For me, it comes from a variety of sources. It comes from migratory birds and butterflies, who, despite all obstacles, always seem to know their routes. It comes from the dulcet tones of songbirds on sweetly warm days.

Inspiration comes from horses running wild and free, their manes and tails flying behind them. Inspiration comes from the plant world, as well. It comes from the scent of newly opened rosebuds. It comes from young trees that bend in the wind and that resist breaking. It comes from a tiny plant in a flower pot that is trying hard to grow and to become a great big plant with flowers.

Weaver Lenore Tetkowski and her award winning wall hanging, "Mount Diversity," turns material into an inspiring story of humanity.

And inspiration comes from other people. Inspiration comes from the determination of premature babies. It comes from watching people use their bodies to tell stories, which is the magic of dance. It comes from hearing the stories of people who have had to flee their homelands and find a save haven elsewhere and from their determination to start their lives over. It comes from our friends and our families and our neighbors and from the friends that we have yet to meet.

Inspiration comes from other people, even when we refuse to acknowledge them. All too often, in our world, we have come to see people who don't look as if they could be our first cousins and who don't speak the same language that we speak and who don't practice their faith in the same way that we practice ours as THE OTHER. We are taught to see people who are different from us as threats, instead of as gifts. We learn to be afraid of diversity, instead of enamored by it. That fear and that rejection of others leads to us treating "THE OTHER" badly and even abusively.

Unlearning our fears of our fellow humans is a gift. It leaves us free to celebrate diversity. It means that we can no longer treat others badly. We see other humans as friends and neighbors and as guides to cultures that are just as wonderful as our culture. There is no longer an us vs. them. It is just ALL OF US, speaking a wide variety of languages, looking very different from one other, experiencing so many paths to spirituality, and loving a great collection of music and art.

Unlearning our fears of our fellow humans gives us the freedom to love life because we are no longer gripped with terror. And it helps us to become better inspirations for one another. Then we can find inspiration from everything and everyone with a sense of confidence and joy.