Inspiration comes from a multitude of places. We all have an internal list of people, places and things that inspire us. As a part-time blogger it can sometimes be frustrating to find inspiration. We never want to feel compelled to write, the happier and more creative alternative is to be inspired to write. It’s more evident in what you read and what you take from it to carry you through in your own life.
Are You Inspiring?
The year of 2016 will go down as one where the world, and especially the United States, has lost inspirations. From Muhammad Ali to Pat Summitt, and everyone in between, we have lost figures of a monumental standing. It’s caused me to look at my own life and decide what and who inspires me and what am I doing to generate the same inspiration to others around me. I wear many hats in my life, but the one that entertains me the most is traveling with my family. Am I providing an inspiration to anyone with my words, my thoughts or my actions? Am I contributing anything to this beautiful world that has given me so much.
Inspiration Can Come Quickly
In a traditional routine from my day job, I took my typical break for lunch by getting outside and exercising. It clears my mind and that’s when most of my inspiration derives as I sweat profusely from head to toe. Already having a post in my mind regarding inspiration in travel, my thoughts slowly formed into a short little story that would quantify what, if any impact, I have on the world around me. Strolling through my parking lot and ready to question my efforts, a vehicle pulled up close to me. A vendor I work with and share my travel experiences with poked his head out the window and apologized for not being available lately and mentioned his wife had passed away a couple of weeks ago. It was sudden and it was devastating to his family. And then he said something else. “What you’re doing, taking your girls to see the world? You’re doing the right thing. You’re an inspiration that this life can’t be taken for granted.”
It’s a Cumulative Affair
You know, sometimes the right words find you. I thought about his loss. I thought about those trips he took when I begged him to get out and see the world. And in a selfish moment, I thought about the impact we make. Not just me, but all of us who seek to bring happiness into the lives of the ones around us. The travel blogging community is a mish mosh of everything and yet we all complement each other. We all strive to inspire. Now maybe a post about leg room on a new jet doesn’t sound inspiring. Or maybe those pictures of the seedy hotel didn’t do it for you. And maybe, just maybe, those posts of mine trying to inspire you to simply get out and about didn’t push you out the door. The deals and credit card offers we’re so lucky to receive by our blogging friends get you on the road. Blogs like mine and others are there to remind you why you are on the road. But all together they paint a picture of what’s possible.
It isn’t to brag, it’s to stimulate!
I’m often amused when I read comments on travel blogs that ridicule the writer for letting “secrets” out, or in worse scenarios, make this out to be a battle to who can get the most points or the best bonus. It’s at that point when we’ve lost track of the primary reason we do what we do, and that is to see the world and inspire. I read with amazement the blogs of The Frequent Miler and Miles to Memories as they traverse this world and spread the good news of travel. I shudder to think of the many tips and tricks they have employed, but it does what they intended, inspires others including myself. I don’t have the cojones to do many of the things they do, but I cherry pick. And then I turn around and tell someone else the tricks I have learned, and so on, and so on. And these are just a few. I thank the travel blogging world for this gift of inspiration and am humbled to know that I have made even the smallest impact on others.
So if you are reading this, and let’s hope you are, find your inspiration. And then, pass it on. There’s a world of weary individuals out there that are simply looking for an excuse. Give them that excuse and change their lives forever.
Live within your means, Travel beyond them!
