MAY I HAVE A WORD #3

Potluck With Tonya Penrose

This marks entry #3 in the May I Have A Word series.

Welcome back to Potluck With Tonya Penrose. I hope you’ve come feeling peckish for another word. I’m serving up one that lives to simmer and bubble daily in our spiritual pot. Hold on a sec. This word is so flavorful that its welcome in the emotional and physical pots, too. Yes, indeedy it is. Bring your curiosity from a past May I Have A Word and you’ll say glory be after you finish reading. Let’s spend some time pondering inspiration.

An aside: If you haven’t read the first two posts in this series, I invite you to turn back the clock and give a squint. You’ll learn how an assignment by a well-meaning friend led me to this very moment—call it an author’s moment.

Inspiration is a full-bodied word. What do I mean by that? Well, when I read various definitions found in the dictionaries, I sighed. None seemed to grasp the power wielded by inspiration. They want to confine the meaning to the mental stimulation that happens when we’re inspired. I say nay. The mental stimulation occurs after the inspiration. Are there different types and degrees of inspiration? I think so. I leave that question for pondering.

For this piece, I’m tapping divine inspiration. It’s the one that infuses me with creativity like no other.

I find the most profound life-changing type of inspiration comes as a spark. For me, it’s a divine spark. I always find a unique fingerprint to this experience. It’s as if the inspiration comes from a higher place, and I believe it does. Why? Because my mind could never conjure up what I’m given.

Another hint it’s divinely inspired is there’s a kind of quickening that awakens the feeling of awe and aha. Only then does the mind jump to analyze and try to color the interpretation. Like Old Mountain Cassie teaches, we must watch our minds as if they’re a coiled snake sitting next to us.

I’ve learned not to question the source of divine inspiration. Instead, I unwrap the gift, give thanks, and act, trusting that the surprise results will unfold. With divine insights, always comes more than our minds can imagine.

To close May I Have A Word, divine inspiration needs a quiet mind to fully express and then experience the sparks. The gifts from feeling and then acting inspired often ripples. Inspiration is a word that has the power to change us and the course of our lives. It’s a word with infinite power!

Next week, I’ve invited the character Nash Walker from Welcome to Charm back for more schooling on forest bathing using the senses.

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