I have really enjoyed having Abby here as the Mental Health Blogger Of The Week. She has done an awesome job!

For today’s submission, I had asked Abby to share with us what gives her inspiration.  The following is her answer to my question.

For such a straightforward question,
I’m having a rough time
finding a straightforward answer.
Probably because
I’m not sure
I have sources
of or for inspiration
in the sense of books or people
so much as
actions and movement
that inspire me
to keep going,
to keep living,
reminders of why
I keep going.
On that note,
these are things
that often inspire me,
and as odd as they might be
to some
they are my sources of inspiration.

The sound of my knitting needles
clicking softly together.
E.E. Cummings’ poetry.
The sun shining through clouds
in the late afternoon.
Music, be it
Beethoven or Britney –
it doesn’t really matter
if it feels right.
Yoga,
and how it brings me
into myself
and into the moment,
even and especially
when I’m leaving patterns
of sweat drops
on my mat.
Knowing
I have done my best,
in whatever I have set out to do
when the end of the day arrives.
High fantasy series
that take months to read,
dragons
and chaos magic.
Sometimes
it’s a phrase
or a word
and the meanings behind it
that unveils
reveals
uncovers
understanding and wisdom
I didn’t know I had within me,
that I did not know
I was capable of.

I wish I had
a list of websites or books,
movies or famous people,
but for me
true inspiration
is in the little things,
the small day to day things
that let me know
I’m still here
still putting
one foot in front of the other,
still refusing
to give in,
still refusing
to give up
even when
giving up
is all I believe I want.
In a way,
my not giving up
is an inspiration for me,
as narcissistic as that might sound.
Honestly though,
I think
that we all
could stand
to be
inspired
by ourselves;
that every one of us
could be
in our own right
inspiring,
if we’d give ourselves
the chance
to step out from behind
and out from under
the need to be perfect.
If we’d stopped looking
at what was wrong
and saw
truthfully
without judgment and comparison
how amazing we each are
how strong we truly are,
how we could,
if we let ourselves see ourselves,
be our own inspiration.