A Flower on a Path.

In the last few weeks, I've had a few low-key theological conversations with family and friends.  I finished the novel Eat, Pray, Love and have found myself discussing Elizabeth Gilbert's now best-selling and blockbusting "Search for Everything."  I truly did love this book.  I loved her writing, and the way she expressed her passion for everything.  She described the food so well in her Italy portion of the book, that literally my mouth was watering, and for days all I craved was that pizza from Naples.

In discussing it with my mom (who could only speak for the movie), she said that while she enjoyed the movie, she wasn't as inspired as some may be.  She noted, "I can be inspired by a friend who overcomes a difficult situation."  A family friend of mine alluded to the fact that, "Maybe I'm missing something in my life?  I haven't felt that inspired to be that drastic in life."

I have concluded that for each person, inspiration (of course) comes in different forms.  I believe, that we can and should be inspired by the people around us.  We speak of angels and how magnificent it would be to see one in our lifetime.  Everyday we have the opportunity to see those angels.  They are our neighbors, our friends and our family members.  We don't need to look for flying, glowing, white-wearing beings--they are right in front of us.

Inspiration doesn't need to come from people.  It can be much smaller than this.  Yesterday while in church a woman remarked, "...It (inspiration) can be manifested in the form of a flower on a path while taking a walk." I loved this imagery!  I could see a path with a simple flower in the middle of it, and I knew immediately what it was she was talking about.

Spirituality and faith to me, are vital in all lives.  These come in countless forms and regardless of religion (if any), it is possible to have both.  However it may come to any of us in our daily lives, I hope we recognize it when it does.