Many thanks to Susie Walton for this beautiful article on inspiration!
by Susie Walton
When I was asked to write about
this topic my first thought was, "Where does my inspiration come
from?" Immediately what came to me was, 'my family'.
I then looked up the definition of
inspiration: "the process of being mentally stimulated to do or feel
something, especially something creative."
My
kids were my catalyst, my inspiration, to begin teaching parenting courses over
25 years ago and once again they were my inspiration to write my book, Key to
Personal Freedom: How Myths Affect our Family Lives ...25 years later they are
still my source of inspiration as they inspire me to be the best that I can be
and when slacking a bit, they challenge me on it.
My favorite quote is: "It
Takes A Village To Raise A Child" It has been the source and inspiration
for much of my life's work so I decided to turn to my village, my kids, a niece
and nephew of mine, to find out what inspires them - what is behind their
inspiration when parenting and what are some things that keep them inspired as
parents: I am honored to share their words with each of you:
Tuffy and Gina:
Having
faith in God that he would not give me more than I can handle.
Parenting is
a never-ending work in progress. It's a daily learning experience. I often
remind myself that while I teach my kids all about life, in the midst of the
crazy, they are actually teaching me what life is all about. The attempt at
perfect parenting has been a struggle of mine, yet I find comfort in knowing
there are no perfect parents, no perfect children but there are many perfect
moments along the way.
I love this quote from C.S. Lewis:
"Children are not a distraction from more important work. They are the
most important work."
Nate and Ali:
It is the most inspiring thing to be able to wake up
everyday and share new memories as a family. We have had the time of our life
having all these "firsts" together the past 16 months of Willa's
life.
Becoming a parent has really enriched my
relationship with my husband. To be able to see Nate interacting with our
daughter is completely awe- inspiring and pure magic. I get inspired seeing so
much of him in her. As I watch her, I get to imagine what my best friend
was like as a child.
Being a mom has given me a greater appreciation and a
deeper love for my own parents. I get inspired everyday thinking about the
things I can't wait to share with Willa as well as the things my parents shared
with me. I get to be a child again!!! I get to rediscover the world again!!!
However, my challenge is to not get ahead of myself...it's hard for me to pace
myself because there is so much of the world I want to show her right now!!!
It's hard to stay in the moment, I find myself getting excited about doing
things with her in the future that I miss out on what is happening right
now. There is such an excitement of a new day where I get to help her
learn new things!!! It has inspired me to educate myself more, as I want to
fulfill her physical and developmental needs that are changing by the
millisecond!!!! It has made me want to be the best version of myself for her.
This is a constant challenge. She reminds me of my values and who I am at my
core.
Luke and Bre:
It is
the best and without a doubt the HARDEST thing I've ever done. I love the
challenge of trying to make everyday fun and stimulating for my kids. Parenting
tests my creativity, patience and yet, never amazes me how much love I can feel
for another person. To be able to see these little pieces of perfect develop
their own personalities and all the while my job is to try and teach them to be
good, kind, loving and compassionate people. To hear my kid say
"please" and "thank you" to a complete stranger without
being prompted feels like such a WIN. The days are long and the months seem to
fly by and day in and day out, without fail, I realize that kids are born to
LOVE. They are programmed to know nothing other than LOVE. I realize as a mom
how many amazing people we have in our lives that love our kids and how lucky I
am to be surrounded by so much love and support.
Adam and Tracy:
Things
that inspire my parenting:
-Being away from my kids and
missing them
-Your Infinite Life classes
-Remembering that the days are long but the years are short
-Remembering that hard work with parenting now will pay off later when my kids
are older
-Remembering that everyone deserves everything they want in life
Kam and Jamie:
Knowing that what I
do and how I treat other people are teaching my kids a lot more than the words
that come out of my mouth inspires my parenting. I know I don't always have the
perfect way of saying something or teaching a specific lesson but I always go
back to the golden rule. I try my very hardest to lead by example: focusing on
giving to, listening to, and loving on others so that my kids will see how one
should act. Recognizing that we can only really mess them up as kids (cause
they are born so darn perfect) I'm constantly trying to stay aware of being
non-judgmental, and try not to influence them with my beliefs but allow each of
them to form their own beliefs and be the best person they can be. And to be
honest, it also inspires me to know that no matter how hard I try, I'm going to
mess up (lose my temper and yell, literally after the 30th Time of asking them
to leave their dang muddy shoes outside), but the best part is that kids are
the quickest to forgive and love me anyway (thank God).
We had a
great speaker in church a few weeks ago that said something that resonated with
me - he said, we have no right to be in self-pity when there is so much hurt in
the world - and then he quoted the great John Wooden and said, "MAKE EACH
DAY YOUR MASTERPIECE". Bottom line, we are all so blessed to have the
families that we do, healthy kids, live where we do, and have all the love that
surrounds us. That should be inspiring enough to go out and be the GOOD each
day and live life to its fullest with no regrets, with kindness and respect for
all. And teach our kids those same values along the way.
So
there it is... I am so honored, blessed and inspired to call these people my
sons, daughter in laws, niece and nephew.
Some Tips on Inspiration:
R. Kay Green wrote a blog, 'What
is the true meaning of Inspiration?'
Here are 3 steps to inspiring
others:
- Act
and Show
- Provide
Others with a Blueprint
- Become
a Mentor
On a personal note, one way I was
able to bring back my inspiration in those days where I found myself
overwhelmed, yelling and being grouchy with my kids was at night, when they
were finally asleep, I would go into their rooms and look at their angelic faces.
Every single time a wave of love, inspiration and joy would make itself known
to me again.
I now invite each of you to take a
moment to reflect on what inspires you along with what will be your inspiration
for 2017.
