Recently I was pouting about a real estate deal gone wrong, and when I say pouting, I mean pouting. Big Time. I was in a foul mood, hunched over my computer, pouring over emails and contracts and just feeling, well….blah.
I began searching through pictures of the homes we looked at, especially the one where the deal had gone sour. As I was looking at them, this picture popped up, a picture I forgot about taking, one that I snapped while walking on the home’s nearby pier with my daughter: 
This young couple walked right by me, lost in their own world. They were talking, laughing, pointing things out, enjoying the beautiful beach day. Completely in love – I mean, look how they are leaning into each other! As I admired them, I noticed how young they were. 23? 25? I also noticed he didn’t have a left leg. Something made me snap this picture, not to be intrusive, but only because I wanted to capture a moment of pure bliss and unabashed love.
I began conjuring up the story in my mind. Was he a War Veteran? Did he have a car accident or a boating accident? Was he born without a limb and had to endure hours of therapy and doctors appointments as a child learning how to walk? Did he catch an unexpected infection that came out of nowhere during High School? The backstory didn’t matter. What mattered was that on this day, he was enjoying the beach and the sand and the sun, with a beautiful girl who obviously was gaga over him. They were present in a moment that he might not have otherwise if things had turned out differently.
It inspired me, and made me embarrassed, about my pity party over a stupid real estate deal gone wrong.
Inspiration is all around us. Sometimes it whispers. Sometimes it hits us right upside the head. Sometimes we are too wrapped up in whatever we are doing to even listen or look for it. But it’s always there. We just need to find it.
It made me stop to think about the people in my life currently inspiring me:
- The mom of three boys diagnosed with Breast Cancer
- The friend who made a brave decision to leave a long-term relationship
- A single mom that quit her full-time, benefits-packed job to go back to school to pursue her passion of interior design at age 40-something
- A high school friend that left her Chicago hometown of 40-something years to move to California and try something new
Even during the challenging times, look for inspiration. It’s everywhere, and can make us think about — and react to — things differently.
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