There are moments when we need a little encouragement. Not necessarily because something is wrong. However, we sometimes find ourselves at a point where we need to remember that we can keep going. And what gives us that feeling can be surprisingly simple.
A song or a book. Maybe, a conversation.
A photograph.
Perhaps, something beautiful we notice on an ordinary day.
A person who believes in us.
A sentence that stays with us.
Sometimes, even a work of art.
We all have different things we turn toward when we need to feel a little more grounded, hopeful, or connected to ourselves.
And I’ve been thinking about what those things mean to us.
Inspiration doesn’t always look like inspiration
We often imagine inspiration as something dramatic.
A breathtaking landscape.
A powerful speech.
A life-changing idea.
A sudden burst of creativity.
But sometimes, inspiration arrives much more quietly.
It can be the way morning light falls across a room.
A flower growing where we didn’t expect to see one.
A song that brings back a memory.
Someone’s kindness.
A page in a book we happened to open at exactly the right moment.
A painting that makes us pause.
These moments don’t necessarily tell us what to do next.
Sometimes, they simply remind us that there is still something worth noticing.
And perhaps that is enough.
What we turn toward
Sometimes, I look for something that helps me feel connected again.
That might be color.
Texture.
Music.
Nature.
A familiar place.
A conversation with someone I trust.
Or simply being quiet long enough to hear my own thoughts.
I think this is one of the reasons art matters so much to me. A painting doesn’t have to give us instructions. It can simply meet us where we are.
We can look at it differently depending on the day. Something we didn’t notice before might suddenly become important. A color might catch our attention. A gesture might feel familiar. Moreover, a small detail could make us stay a bit longer.
The artwork hasn’t necessarily changed. But perhaps something in us has.
The things that stay with us
Some sources of inspiration become part of our lives almost without us realizing it.
A particular song.
A favorite book.
A photograph we keep returning to.
A phrase someone once told us.
A place where we have felt completely ourselves.
A person whose presence reminds us of who we are.
These things can become little anchors. They don’t prevent difficult days. They don’t make change disappear.
But they can remind us that our story contains more than the moment we are currently living.
That matters.
Especially when we are moving through something uncertain.
Inspiration and becoming
I’ve been thinking about this while looking at Becoming Through Courage.
When I first painted her, I was thinking about courage in a very different way. At the time, I think I associated courage with moving forward. With doing something difficult. With becoming someone new.
But after living with the painting and eventually painting her again, I began to see something else.
Sometimes courage is quieter. It is staying connected to yourself while life changes around you. Sometimes it is allowing yourself to become someone you didn’t expect to become. And sometimes, it is simply continuing to notice what is still beautiful.
That idea has become important to me. Because encouragement doesn’t always have to push us forward. Sometimes, it simply helps us remember that we are still here.
What gives you a little courage?
Maybe you have something you return to when you need encouragement.
Maybe it is music or art.
Perhaps, it is Nature.
Maybe it is a person.
Maybe it is something you have created yourself.
Or perhaps it is something completely ordinary that has become meaningful because of the way it makes you feel. There doesn’t have to be a profound explanation. Sometimes we simply know:
This helps me
And I think there is something beautiful about paying attention to that.
A small invitation
This week, I want to invite you to notice what you naturally turn toward when you need a little encouragement.
Don’t search for the perfect answer. Just notice.
What do you listen to?
What do you look at?
Who do you reach out to?
Where do you go?
What do you hold onto?
Maybe one of those things has been quietly supporting you for longer than you realized. And perhaps noticing it is its own kind of gratitude.
What inspires you when you need encouragement?
I’d really love to know. Not because there is one right answer. But because I think we can learn something from the things that help each of us keep going.
Sometimes, what inspires one person becomes a source of inspiration for someone else. And maybe that’s one of the beautiful things about sharing what moves us. We never know who might need to hear it.
If you want to keep exploring
The Blooming Through Change Toolkit offers another small space to pause, reflect, and listen to what is asking for your attention.
You don’t need to have everything figured out. You can simply begin where you are.
And if you’d like to share:
