And Wings to Fly...

Look at this young man, so strapped down with bomber jacket, khakis, head covered, eyes protected, and wings....those beautiful wings.  I am reminded that inspiration is sometimes scarce!  We know we need it, but to find it, can become an impossible scavenger hunt.  Lucky for us, there are many ways to get your inspire groove ticking.  We can experience something audible, a song, like Eartha Kitt's, "Santa Baby"....or something visual, like "Morning Day On the Farm, by Grandma Moses. Inspiration can come at random times, by a friend, or even a stranger, simply by a kind gesture, or a simple quote.

I wonder...how can we inspire from within?  To have a sudden idea rise from nowhere, but one capable of making you feel elated, like you could conquer the world.  To have eyes of wonder at life, much like a little child.  I know for myself, I have been guilty of that age old....when this and that happens....THEN...I'll be happy.  Wow, the amount of time lost, and time I cannot get back. I honestly think that the moment you start "thinking about being happier"....that is the moment that you are NOT happy.  This is why I must change.  I must change inward...to change what happens outward. 

Looking at this little guy, above in the photo, reminds me of a time long ago, when I was a young teenager of 13.  I remember seeing a TV show that had a kid on a skateboard.  I was inspired!  I wanted that contraption!  I just knew I could balance myself, and glide right on down Ray Lane street.  But where to get one?  This is where I remember that elation feeling, you know, the one I was talking about above?  Yes, I conjured up a plan in my head to make my own skateboard.  When I told my Daddy, he looked at me, puzzled at first, then scratched his head....as if to make some time pass while he thought...then he went into his workshop and came out with a rough piece of wood.  He gave me that junk piece of wood and told me to build it.  Somehow, that wry look on his face...and to know Dempsey Butler, you would know it was a look of amusement.  I took that challenge!  I used my cheap, old pocket knife, and started by whittling.  That's right, I whittled that wood into the shape of the top of a skateboard.  I then found old sandpaper in Daddy's shop and started sanding down the corners to smooth all the corner edges.  I had a think-fest....this is where I thought for about 3 days how to make this contraption, and then realized I already had the wheels.  I had an old pair of metal roller skates.  I disassembled those old rusty skates, and then asked my Daddy for some metal brackets, nuts and screws and some tools.  Soon, I realized that I could build it.  It wasn't going to be new, it wasn't going to be colorful or shiny, and the wheels, as rusty as they were, would surely not glide down Ray Lane like a dream...but I knew I could finish what I started, and enjoy it for what it was.

I realize now, just how precious this story is to me.  Mostly, because my Daddy believed in me. I know he always did.  I also know that I somehow seemed to amuse him....even without trying.  I realize, and this is the most important part....that like the young man above in the photo...this boy was never going to REALLY fly, but to his imagination....he would fly the world.  Same here, I was never going to have a smooth ride, and those rusty wheels broke off my second run down that hill on Ray Lane....but....in my imagination...I was skateboarding the world.

Wings to fly.....that is what all of us need.  We just have to find ways to implement it into our lives.  The point is... be happy.  Be happy in the moment.  Be happy now.  Grab your wings...whether made of cardboard or wood, or those old rusty wheels on an odd shaped skateboard, and ride.  Ride like the wind...because it's a good day to be alive.