Wouldn’t you like to find an idea or a goal that pulled you forward? A belief that something you did would matter? A grace that might grow your strengths and accomplishments?
We often think of inspiration as a gift, a feeling that arrives out of nowhere and tells us the right answer. Sometimes that might be true, but most of the time it puts inspiration out of reach. It makes us feel that inspiration is only available by chance. Most of us must plod forward in uneven lighting without a clear vision to guide us.
Stories can help by reminding us that often plodding forward in uneven lighting is exactly what we are called to do. We learn from biographies of the great creators that their lives were less about lightning bolts of understanding and more about showing up and believing the next step would lead somewhere good.
This should not let our leaders off the hook, as though we don’t need any spark to light our best thinking. It should, instead, make them aware that lots of little sparks of connection and vision and discipline can come together to inspire in a way that a dazzling image of the future might not.
If you want to be inspired, look for the thing that makes it worth plodding forward, the thing that you are willing to be frustrated in the service of. As you look at it, you’ll find the details come into focus and it becomes a little shinier, a little more compelling. But the inspiration isn’t the polish: it’s the foundation of a genuine good worth the effort.
And if you want to inspire others, remember that you don’t need to be dazzling. You need to show them a clear picture of something they want that is good and possible, but currently just out of reach.
