Inspiration Day

Please excuse the long delay in posting. Real life seems to have gotten in the way of my cyber life.

The school where I work has a week long ritual to encourage school spirit by dressing in costumes in accordance with themes. This week is sponsored by student council and the middle school student council members choose, by voting, the themes for each day. Today was inspiration day- dress as who or what inspires you. There were very cute MLK Juniors, Kobe Bryants, lots of kids wearing their parents’ white doctors jackets or scrubs, and a several kids parading as their teachers complete with the ID badge. Although inspiration day is clearly not as easy to participate in as crazy hair day- it did allow for thinking. What does it mean to be inspired? Who inspires us positively or negatively?

Taking a moment to think about who influences our choices is an exercise in self-analysis. If you peel away all of the superfluous inspirations, you are left staring your core beliefs in the face. The choices we make in our lives are fully our own choices, but what guides us ultimately. Family, friends, religion, gut feelings? At least for the purposes of participating in spirit week my costume said, “I am inspired to do tikkun olam, repair the world, ” which is a principle through which I try to live my life. It’s a terribly sad comment that I need a day in spirit week to determine my inspiration and to remind myself what are my true beliefs.