Is there someone or something in your life from which you draw inspiration? Most of you will say yes, and some of you will sit there for a few moments and ponder this very thought. Sometimes we think we need to wait for that 'Aha' moment before we act or react.
There are many people in my life that inspire me. There are women that I know whose husbands are serving in Iraq or Afghanistan and are keeping things together on the homefront. I honestly don't think I would be able to handle half as much as they do. I applaud them for keeping the 'home fires' burning while their loved ones are half a world away.

When I see the women in the Empowered Women of Wisdom group I host each month, I am in awe of  how much they have handled in their lives and have done it with grace and dignity. Each one has a story and each one has grown in their own way, and each one is still struggling with one thing or another, as we all are. But, when we get together, we inspire eachother to keep on going, to keep on chugging along and we share our experiences and we share our joy, our sorrow, our fears and our laughter. These amazing group of women inspire ME to be a better person. My life would be so empty without them.

When I think of the people who have inspired me in my life, the list is long. There is of course family like my grandparents, my mom and dad and of course some teachers in my life. Even the one teacher I had in typing class (yes, there were no computers when I was in high school) that said I would never amount to anything because I could not type. That one derogatory comment set me on my path to prove her wrong and I did. Many years later, she saw one of my successes and even though she probably did not recall that comment she made to me in haste, I felt satisfaction in knowing that I took that derogatory comment and let it inspire me to cancel out her expectations of me. The list is endless; the guidance counselor who said I should just get married and have kids because I wasn't smart enough to go to college. I let that comment keep me from pursuing secondary education and it was when I returned to school at age 42 that I pushed past those self-limiting beliefs and aspired to do well.

As a young girl and as an adult, my dad was my inspiration. He would tell me that I could do whatever I wanted as long as I put my mind to it. When I was afraid to take chances, he reminded me that if I didn't at least try, I would never know how good it could be. Even though he is in Spirit now, I still hear his words of encouragement and his gentle hand pushing me along when I resist change or taking a chance.

Each time when I aspired to do something, I recalled the words that were spoken to me. I would hear
the nay sayers and then I would hear my dads voice. And that is where my inspiration came from.

I am telling you that YOU are GOOD enough. Within us is the inspiration, the intuition, the empowerment, the enlightenment that each of seeks to be a better person, to live a better life. Yes, the economy is tough, yes there are conspiracy theorists that talk about 2012, and yes there is always going to be something or someone telling you that your idea stinks or that you will fail.

So what are you going to do about it? Are you going to let their limiting beliefs about you stop you from living an inspired life? Are you ready to grasp that brass ring and know in your heart that YOU can do it?

Isn't it time you started living an empowered, inspired and enlightened life?

With Gratitude,
Donna