How to Be Inspired
Over the past few decades, I have had the privilege of meeting many highly-accomplished people that I find inspiring. However this past week, I got to spend time with the most inspiring person I have ever met in my life.
He walks through the world without any fear. He climbs mountains, not trying to get anywhere but for the sheer joy of the challenge. He truly is focused on the journey, not the destination.
He is unconcerned with how he looks. If he has bed hair, bad breath, stains on his clothes, holes in his pants or his shirt is sticking out of the bottom of his sweater, none of it matters to him.
He really does not care about what others will think about him. If he is in a crowded public space or in his quiet bedroom, he speaks at the same tone and uses the same vocabulary.
He truly loves everyone he comes across unconditionally. For him, life is not a series of transactions, it is a series of experiences. He will smile at strangers without pause and without hesitation.
He also knows how to express his needs and wants very clearly, and does not stop until he feels that he has been heard. In this way, he is at peace and does not store any resentment.
He is a little shy at first when seeing someone new. He will quietly examine the person to see if it is safe for him to engage. And then engage without holding anything back.
He is infinitely curious about the world outside of him. In each new space he enters, he likes to inspect every corner, every button, every object and every person.
He is always open to hearing what you have to say, and will always tell you what he thinks. There is no guessing about where you stand, he will make it clear.
He is completely present in the moment, never dwelling about the past, and he seems totally uninterested in planning the future. He is completely absorbed with whomever or whatever is in this present moment.
The most inspiring person to me is my 2 year old nephew, who came to visit me in Portugal this past week. Within minutes, I began to collect the many life lessons he has to teach me about how to be.
I hope to be more like him when I grow up.
