25 Things....

Melissa over at Stretch Marks challenged everyone to list the 25 things that inspire them. I was all set to do that... and then I realized... I don't even really know what that means. What does "Inspire" mean? So, I ran over to good ole dictionary.com and looked it up. Here's what it says:

in·spire
1. to fill with an animating, quickening, or exalting influence: His courage inspired his followers.
2. to produce or arouse (a feeling, thought, etc.): to inspire confidence in others.
3. to fill or affect with a specified feeling, thought, etc.: to inspire a person with distrust.
4. to influence or impel: Competition inspired her to greater efforts.
5. to animate, as an influence, feeling, thought, or the like, does: They were inspired by a belief in a better future.
6. to communicate or suggest by a divine or supernatural influence: writings inspired by God.
7. to guide or control by divine influence.
8. to prompt or instigate (utterances, acts, etc.) by influence, without avowal of responsibility.
9. to give rise to, bring about, cause, etc.: a philosophy that inspired a revolution.
10. to take (air, gases, etc.) into the lungs in breathing; inhale.
11. Archaic.
a. to infuse (breath, life, etc.) by breathing (usually fol. by into).
b. to breathe into or upon. –verb (used without object)
12. to give inspiration.
13. to inhale.

Wow... one little word, sure can be taken a lot of different directions. So... what inspires me? What animates me? What makes me breathe? What influences me?

Is it bad to say that I can't think of 25 things?? I can think of 25 things I LIKE. I can think of 25 things that make me HAPPY. But 25 things that inspire me? Inspire me to what?? Change myself? Love others more? Want to make the world better?

(Perhaps I'm looking at this all much too deep)

What inspires me right now? What causes action? Well... injustice. Like my post yesterday. I know life isn't fair, but what the school is doing isn't "unfair" to me, it's just not the way a school should work. So, it inspired me. I wrote letters to the Principal and each member of the school board. And I won't stop talking about this. Maybe this is the whole reason I moved here. Maybe it was to make a difference here?

What else inspires me right now? Money. Not mine, someone else's. Specifically John McCain's & Barack Obama's. Barack Obama has spent over $300,000,000 on his campaign. McCain just over $100,000,000. I'm NOT saying anything about the difference between the amounts. In fact, lets add them together for a nice, even $400,000,000.00. Got that - Four Hundred Million Dollars. FOUR HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS. FOR WHAT??? Do you know what else you can do with $400,000,000.00?

• Ever heard of Compassion International? They're a group where you can sponsor a child in a 3rd world country - give them food, clothing, education, etc. For $400,000,000.00 you could support 57,870 kids for 18 years.
• You know the Make-A-Wish foundation, right? They say the average "wish trip" costs $7,200. So with $400,000,000 you could fund 55,555 Make-A-Wish trips.
• You know how they talk about how schools are having to cut phy-ed and music? Well, the average salary for a first year specialty teacher is approximately $32,000.00 (big difference depending on where you live of course). For $400,000,000.00 you could hire 2500 teachers for 5 years. That's a lot of singing and running.
• For $400,000,000 you could buy TEN MILLION bags of groceries for hungry families.

Does that bother anyone else?? Does that inspire me?? HECK YES. In this day and age of communication, that kind of spending is GROTESQUE! I'm inspired to write my senators and congresspeople and whoever else I can get an address for. And run for office myself. For CHEAP (Lula - we need to talk)

What else inspires me? Gert & Essie. They inspire me to get up every morning. They inspire me to go to work so that I can provide for them. They inspire me to dig and scrape and swallow my pride so that I can get them what they need.

Fear inspires me. Fear inspires me to live on the third floor so that I don't worry about someone coming in our windows at night and hurting the girls. Fear inspires me to make sure that my babies are always buckled in the car so that they don't get hurt. Fear inspires me to go to work so I don't have to move into a cardboard box.

Comments inspire me. I like them. I'll admit it, I like it when people say I'm funny, and it inspires me to be more funny. Which then makes me afraid that I'm not being funny enough.

Carla B inspires me. I want to take pictures like she does. OH my GOSH do I want to take pictures like her. She inspires me to figure out how in the HECK to use my camera more than in "auto" mode. I wanna be her when I grow up.

Mr. B inspires me. Mr. B's oldest son has special needs, and Mr. B is his primary care-giver. Mr. B fights for his son, encourages his son, does what's best for him even when it hurts... THAT inspires me. Mr. B also inspires me to be better - which is SO cliche', but it's true. I hope that I have a long future with him, and I want him to have the best me I can be. So I'm inspired to work hard, to learn new things, to open my mind, to getting my arse in the gym...

Hmmm... i think I could ramble on for some time... but you're getting bored aren't you....