Living By The Book: Inspiration Sandwich – Getting Inspired

Quick, what’s the first thing one should do before beginning a book called Inspiration SandwichCover of the book Inspiration Sandwich: Stories to Inspire our Creative Freedom by SARK.?

That’s right – eat a sandwich.

I made exactly the kind of sandwich I wanted – grilled cheese. Secret ingredient: Pub Cheese, a cheese spread. Spread that on some really good French loaf, put some provolone, tomatoes and avocado on it too and you’ve got yourself a nice sandwich.

I sat down with my sandwich (and a dog to watch me eat it) and savored every bite.

After eating, I felt tired. But I didn’t take a nap (which SARK would have recommended). Instead, I climbed into my big, brown reading chair and read Inspiration Sandwich from cover to cover.

There is a lot to digest. As I went through the pages, I found my resistance to making fun of things breaking down. Oh, I did find lines like, “One time, I laid on my stomach watching two snails make love for hours. It looked so slippery and erotic, I felt shy.”

But I found a lot of other things… things I’ve been thinking about lately. Like how to relax about money and allow yourself to feel rich no matter how much money is in your bank account. Remember: You are welcome everywhere.

She writes about going to Bermuda with no money and sleeping in a lounge chair by the pool at the hotel and using the cabana to change into her evening outfits. It all came rushing back why I found this book so attractive when I was in college: I wanted to do that. I wanted to travel but felt that I would not have enough money to do it and I was scared.

This leads to another SARK guideline: Make friends with freedom and uncertainty.

I’ve always hated uncertainty. In the past, I’d do a lot to avoid it. Many people I know hate it too, so they make safe choices or stay with things they can’t stand. It’s a very easy thing to do.

There are many ways to free yourself from your fears and uncertainty and many of them involve being a bit of a dork. My task over the next few weeks will be to get in touch with my Inner Dork and be OK with that.

After all this reading and thinking I felt as if I needed to call SARK. Luckily, her free Inspiration Line listed in the back of the book is still operational! How cool is that? I called it.

SARK’s voice reached out across the miles from SARK headquarters in San Francisco. She sounds a lot like that cool neighbor who wears long skirts and scarves and offers to divide her perennials so you can have some for your garden. She would feed your cat if you went to Florida.

She started off singing. Then she talked about how lately she’s been captivated by the stars. Then she talked about “The Marvelous Messy Middle,” which is where we can live and thrive. We can’t live at the extremes – we can’t live in manic ecstasy or the black doldrums. She talked about how she loves her new website, PlanetSARK. Then she wanted to sing some more.

She said she didn’t know the name of the song but it was “The Water is Wide,” an Irish folk song:

The water is wide
I cannot get oer
Neither have I wings to fly
Give me a boat that can carry two
And both shall row, my love and I

I teared up a bit.

She reminded me that she doesn’t have it all together, unless having it all together means feeling all her feelings. And, if I need a miracle, I should sit down with my palms up and say, “Miracle find me now!” If I need a miraculous person to enter my life I say, “Miraculous person find me now.”

Then her message was over and it was my chance to leave a message for her! Oh God, I thought, what should I say? But then a robot told me the mailbox was full. Many, many people want to leave her a message.

I will craft a special message for SARK and leave it on her voice mail. I’ll have to keep trying back to see if the mailbox has been emptied.

I’ll leave you with this quote from Ray Bradbury that’s in the book:

“We are cups, constantly and quietly being filled. The trick is knowing how to tip ourselves over and let the beautiful stuff out.”

Next up: Miracle Walks!

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