Let's get inspired!

Well we’ve had quite a year, haven’t we? With the Horror and the Romance and the Thrills and Adventure. It’s been quite a ride. That’s why we want to give you some reflective time during the holiday season. And with that I bring you our latest and perhaps greatest (perhaps not) flavor: Inspirational. Take it or leave it, there’s something to be said about being inspired. Why, just the other night I went to see a movie and being previewed was an inspiring story starring Jeff Bridges. And how did I know it was inspiring? Well the music, of course. The music gave me visions of being great and doing something awesome. Here, check it out

See what I mean? Inspiring. Ok, there may have been bitter sweet nuances as well, I never said inspiring was comedy. Sometimes you have to pull yourself up by your bootstraps and all that. So let’s get inspired this month, shall we? Let’s take some chances on some old country singer and find out just how much love we have to give (you didn’t watch the preview, did you? And you have no idea what I’m talking about, huh?). Because in the end, it’s all about having a crazy heart…or something like that. INSPIRATIONAL! Let’s get started! Here’s a list of non-fiction inspirational books, because there’s nothing more inspiring than a story about a old country singer down on his luck, except a true story about an old country singer down on his luck. Cheers!

Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson
"The first time you share tea with a Balti, you are a stranger," a villager tells Greg Mortenson. "The second time, you are an honored guest. The third time you become family." An inspirational story of one man's efforts to address poverty, educate girls, and overcome cultural divides, Three Cups, which won the 2007 Kiriyama Prize for nonfiction, reveals the enormous obstacles inherent in becoming such "family."

Life is Short Wear Your Party Pants
By Loretta La Roache
Loretta LaRoche is an internationally known stress-management consultant who advocates humor as a coping mechanism. She uses her wit and wisdom to help people learn how to take stress and turn it into strength, and how to see themselves as the survivors of their own lives—that is, to find the "bless in the mess."

The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch
When Randy Pausch, a computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon, was asked to give such a lecture, he didn't have to imagine it as his last, since he had recently been diagnosed with terminal cancer. But the lecture he gave--"Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams"--wasn't about dying. It was about the importance of overcoming obstacles, of enabling the dreams of others, of seizing every moment (because "time is all you have...and you may find one day that you have less than you think"). It was a summation of everything Randy had come to believe. It was about living.

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert M. Pirsig
Phaedrus, our narrator, takes a present-tense cross-country motorcycle trip with his son during which the maintenance of the motorcycle becomes an illustration of how we can unify the cold, rational realm of technology with the warm, imaginative realm of artistry. As in Zen, the trick is to become one with the activity, to engage in it fully, to see and appreciate all details--be it hiking in the woods, penning an essay, or tightening the chain on a motorcycle.