Jerry Maguire Inspired

The movie Jerry Maguire has some powerful insights on inspiration.  Sports agent Maguire played by Tom Cruise,  grows a conscience after an exchange with a boy whose hockey playing father is hospitalized with his fourth concussion.  Maguire composes a mission statement, the crux of which suggests greater focus on the client and less focus on revenue.  This ideology does not sit well with corporate and he is abruptly fired. Enter Dorothy played by Renee Zellweger who is so moved by the mission statement she quits her job to follow him as he starts his own agency.   She later laments she took the position with him  because she “just wants to feel inspired.”

Aretha Franklin sang about looking out on the morning rain and feeling so un-inspired.    I used to think the guy who made her feel like a natural woman, whatever that means, was the key to her peace of mind.   I now believe she is singing about inspiration and oh baby …what it’s done for her.    Inspiration defined is the process of being mentally stimulated to do or feel something, especially something creative.  

I am in the process of writing my second book, and I want it to be inspiring.   My writer friends counsel me to begin, assuring me the words will come.  I quasi relate to Kevin Costner in Field of Dreams.  “Build it and they will come.”  Ray Kinsella almost lost the farm before the ghosts showed up to play on his field.   But….they did show up.

There are a kazillion books in this world.  Fiction and non,  secular and spiritual, new age, historical and biographical.  There are books on how to build a home, marriage, business or child.   Titles ranging from how to pick a wedding planner to selecting the right divorce lawyer can be found at your local library or Amazon.com.   My self argument has been that the world doesn’t need another book.  It doesn’t need another opinion on how to improve your prayer, sex or family life, communication skills or financial portfolio.  It’s been written, blogged, journaled and encrypted eternally through stone, parchment, paper and electronics.   I wrestle with what I can possibly pen that hasn’t been penned before.

But then…. I am reminded.   When God had something to say he wanted folks to remember – He wrote it down. Or rather,  led sometimes un-inspired people like me to write it down through supernatural directive.    Naysayers discount the Bible as a book written by men.  True,  God used men to write the Book.  But reading the biography of Steve Jobs versus the biography of Jesus evokes quite different reactions within me.   While Job’s brilliance left a profound mark on this generation,  his life though interesting – doesn’t change mine,  MacBook and iPhone aside.    The words he spoke do not possess residual impact.  Matthew, Mark, Luke and John’s however,  serve repeatedly  to direct and align my thinking with God’s.  Particularly when I am feeling un-inspired.   They assure if I ask,  I will be answered. If I seek,  I will find.  If I knock,  the door will be opened.    Paul,  another prolific writer surmised that “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”   Sounds like the words of a man struggling with inspiration but ultimately…. discovering the source of it.      If Paul can do all things – I can do all things.   If Paul can write under inspiration – so can I.

Inspiration is a mental process that stimulates our creative abilities.   Write, paint, hammer,  design, teach, sing, build.   What is IN you?  Who or what inspires you?   When have you felt inspired in the past?   What will it take to inspire you again?   It’s in you. And the world is waiting for it.

Authors note: My first book, a devotional entitled Q & A for Everyday, was published in 2019.