Ever since posting about Digital Detoxing, I've been spending a preposterous amount of time online. Consuming a constant stream of disparate thoughts, comments and opinions is where my valuable time is being spent. I can not say that it has been a joyful experience. It's a lot of words and images and not a lot of enthusiasm. But occasionally a compatible sentiment will pop up and I'll be compelled to poke the little heart and make it glow red. And every so often something rolls down in front of my eyes that penetrates beneath the surface and speaks to my soul. Who said this? Who made this? Who's doing this incredibly inspiring thing that makes me want to stop scrolling and click on their link?
We've reached out to a few people that we find inspiring and asked them:
"Who is inspiring you these days?"
"In general (and not including my mother and Ellen DeGeneres - those are a given) I would say that I've been most inspired by Brene Brown lately. She's a teacher and advocate for vulnerability. I'm also equally inspired by Becky, our sweet mail lady. I find that I'm inspired by character traits in people that I meet day to day."
" Shane Dawson! I feel like he's one of the genuine YouTubers out there. He's proved that it doesn't matter who you are or where you came from, if you work hard you can achieve great things."
"I'm inspired by women that trust their bodies and their babies to birth instinctively. Their confidence in their innate strength and the grace at which they embrace change is awe-inspiring and reminds me how capable we are.
I'm also getting a kick out of, "You are a Badass" by Jen Sincero. Her lighthearted wisdom has been a great nightly read."
"These days, I am inspired by Canada's Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau. He is focused on diversity and inclusion as demonstrated when assembling his team in government, when speaking publicly, and when approving an updated national anthem. He recently received negative publicity for seemingly obsessing over being inclusive when correcting a woman at a Q&A event. Mr. Trudeau suggested she use the term "people-kind" in place of "mankind" as it in more inclusive. The Canadian national anthem has been updated such that, "in all thy son's command" is replaced with "in all of us command".
"AMANDA PALMER! Amanda Palmer is the most artistically inspiring force in my life probably. Her book "The Art of Asking" changed me for sure and her music is the soundtrack to my whole life. -13 year old middle school me, all the way to 23 year old me listening to "Ukulele Anthem" while brushing my teeth before work this morning.
She's so openly vulnerable and PROLIFIC with her art, even when it's not perfect. She always reminds me to keep making, even if you only have 10 minutes, even if you got the chords wrong in a couple of places. It's always better to put it out there without fear than to keep going over and over it, never posting anything or creating in hopes that it will be flawless.
She reminds me to say yes to things even if they could be a total bust. Literally the other day I met a stranger in a bar, ended up chatting with her for hours, she drunkenly invited my godmother and me to a bridal shower she was throwing for her niece the next day. This lady was seriously crazy, but i thought "Amanda Palmer would go." and we went and instead of it being weird, it was EPIC!"
