Inspirational

My god I'm a cynic.

I hear someone talk with passion about a subject and I automatically question their motive.
Is it about them more than the message?
Is it an elaborate self aggrandising process? A mixture of humble and intense. sorry get cynical again.
Its the evangelical nature of some inspiration. Am I being sold a lie? Am I meant to stand up and shout YES or PRAISE HIM!?
Such a cynic. The Genesis track Jesus He Knows Me was a brilliant expose into the corrupt world of two faced charismatic TV evangelists. They wanted money from you, promised little dressed up as much more. Millions of dollars flooded to line the pockets of greedy self important men with a self styled hotline to heaven. A bit like the Republican primaries in 2016.

Listen to the words of Donald Trump. They are mainly small words linked with other small words, inane noises accompanied by bizarre arm waving and stupid grins.
But...
Millions of US citizens have been turned onto his kind of politics by his stunts. I would add at this point that anything Trump says has nothing to do with politics but self promotion, xenophobia and the production of unnecessary gas. The other characters in his show (because lets face it Cruz, Kasic, Rubio etc) all became like him. The only way to beat Trump is to out-Trump Trump.
I'm sure supporters will leave his rally shouting "Go Donald" and thinking 'this guy speaks our language'. Oh dear, because your vocabulary must be very limited and the language pretty indecipherable to the rest of the world.
It would be rather like a bricklayer explaining how to build a wall by shouting to his apprentice "Walls,Yeah I love them, Lets build them yeah!!!!' Or..
A building is ablaze and there are people trapped. The firefighter stands with his hose ready but just says 'Aren't fires terrible!! I hate them don't you? Lets outlaw fires !! I think firefighters are great'  Meanwhile, the fire burns the building down and kills the poor trapped souls. People stand around clapping until one points out that the firefighters haven't done anything. Much head scratching begins and discussions as to why those poor folks burned to death. But wasn't the firefighter inspirational!

The current EU referendum issue is just a series of loud people shouting unsubstantiated words. Boris and his band of misfits are classic but shallow inspirational speakers. The message is generalised, vague and loud. The other side of the argument led by Porky Hameron consists of shouting lines destined for Private Fraser (We're doomed etc) but culled by Jimmy Perry and David Croft because they'd never make the edit. Both leaders would claim to be inspirational.

Ok they may inspire hatred or confusion but hey they sure mean what they say.

Inspiration can often be born out of suffering. To be inspirational, a deprived upbringing or serious illness are good starting points.
They succeeded despite or even because of adversity. Terrible circumstances and events are often used as a reason to inspire others. TV stars who have had drug addiction issues but got clean are seen as inspirational. Violent upbringings or loss of loved ones can be seen as similar. I wouldn't wish tragedy on anyone. Violence, abuse, neglect are horrendous. They shape peoples lives but not all use them as a source of inspiration.
My upbringing was settled, loving and comfortable. I had a happy, free childhood riding my Raleigh Scorpio around the leafy lanes of Kent. Tragedy rarely touched me or if it was there, I must have had my eyes closed.
I've had depression, cancer and stood by helplessly as one of my children nearly died in hospital in more recent years. I don't walk away and feel inspired by these dreadful things. The overriding feeling is one of relief. I dodged the bullet this time. Others may be inspired that I'm still kicking and screaming but not me.

Then there was last night. Some friends asked me to attend a storytelling evening arranged by their son. It was a fundraiser for a scout expedition to Morocco. My daughter previously went on one in 2014 with scouts and loved it. My friends Tim and Janet asked if I would read a few bits which I happily agreed to.

I stumbled through my first piece, an extract from one of my books. I followed Tadhg (our host) who read two of his own poems. They were beautifully composed and carefully delivered. I sat and listened to contributor after contributor, reading stories, poems, extracts from journals. One man sang a brilliant acapella rendition of the folk classic Matty Groves. He managed to convey the passion and violence in the story. Tim and Janets daughter Maireann performed two original poems. She was sensational and the poetry excellent. I listened to true work born out of true inspiration. I returned home energised to write better poetry. To deliver more of myself through my work.

On returning home and checking into the social networks, I discovered that Keith Emerson had died. I was never the biggest ELP fan but had several albums of theirs. Keith had the idea to bring classical music into the sphere of rock. In his previous band The Nice, they did renditions of works by Sibelius and Leonard Bernstein. ELP released an LP reworking of Mussorgskys Pictures at an Exhibition. He brought classical music to rock. You could argue he was the founder of Progressive Rock. Bands such as Yes went on to incorporate classical elements into their music as well as movie themes and jazz. Progressive rock opened the doors to the possible. I was inspired by the like of ELP, Yes, Genesis. I had always been a lover of classical music so to hear rock presented in a classical format it wasn't a great leap. I was inspired to eventually listen to much more than I was prepared to as a teenager. I think if my teenage years were accompanied by the sounds of the Sex Pistols and The Undertones, I may have found appreciation of classical and prog rock more of a leap than with the reverse. I always had the Who to fall back on. My first love were far angrier than any punk artist, trust me.

Two of the most inspirational figures in my life were not born into poverty. They did not struggle through adversity yet produced some of the most profound words to have been written, sung or spoken in the 20th Century. Bob Dylan and Tony Benn were very different characters but both were incredibly perceptive. Dylan gave words to the disaffected and marginalised. Tony Benn also articulated the frustrations and inequalities in society. He stood by those who fought injustice and used his parliamentary position to speak for the disaffected. Dylan was a more reluctant spokesman but still walked the walk.

Inspiration is a very personal matter.
I cannot expect you to be inspired by the same people, moments, places I am.
I am inspired by creativity, passion and honesty. I am inspired by deeds and simplicity not empty promises and vague concepts. I listened to the storytellers young and old and felt inspired. They conveyed their inner most thoughts to an audience. That took bravery, honesty and courage. It is hard to stand up and read to an audience. I am testament to that given how nervous I felt. It was the first time I had ever performed my work in front of anyone (as those present would have guessed).

A person who has survived many challenges in their life is only inspirational if their words mean something and are backed up by deeds.

If you are a terrible writer, an awful out of tune singer, a life coach with no social skills, you will never inspire. You may fool some of the people some of the time but.... well you know the rest.

So lets create a circle of hope. Reach for the stars, make the impossible possible. Do you know what, lets not eh? Stand up and speak your own truth.