Inspirational gifts – and the gift of Inspiration . . What is it?
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The Ancient Greek Muses were the original goddesses of the inspiration – inspiring creation in literature, science and the arts with their graces through song and dance, writing and music.
But inspiration (from the Latin inspirare, meaning “to breathe into”) refers to an unconscious burst of creativity – usually in a literary, musical, or other artistic sense.
However, it is more than this:
Hans Christian Anderson said: Just living is not enough. One must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower . . a little inspiration . . a spark of life to encourage us to go on, to inspire us to succeed.
In Christianity, inspiration is said to be the gift of the Holy Spirit, and in ancient societies, inspiration was also associated with a gift of the gods. So an inspirational gift (in Christian terms) could be said to come from the Holy Spirit – and so there are so-called Gifts of Faith too, which are also inspiring to some people.
But this is not what most people associate with the term Inspirational Gift. For many, it is a gift that inspires someone to think or do something, to achieve their goal. Psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud located inspiration in the inner psyche. And, in modern psychology, inspiration is generally seen as an internal process – a matter of belief: It is this belief that is so important – and a so-called inspirational gift is intended to encourage friends and relatives recipients to “go for it” and achieve what they want to achieve.
Indeed, it is generally thought that, while inspiration is involuntary, beyond control, and received without any complete understanding (even mystical in nature), it can be fuelled by external forces . . indeed, the power to inspire can be gifted . . with an inspirational gift.
And thoughts / gifts from a friend or loved-one go a long way towards fuelling this inspiration.
Albert Schweitzer said: In everyone’s life, at some time, our inner fire goes out. It is then burst back into life by a special encounter with another human being. Could this be achieved with an inspiraional gift?
We should all be thankful to those people who rekindle our inner spirit. And, in general, with a little help from friends and loved-ones, we can do just that – we can be inspired . . and we can impart a divine influence on the minds and souls of our friends and loved-ones – with a little gift – arousing the necessary inspiration within.
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