What it really means to inspire
inspire [in spīr’] originally, to breathe or blow upon or into
i.e. plants inspire us
i.e. we inspire plants
i.e. I breathe because of what has been planted before me
Like that redwood tree that stood firm in the midst of a civil war
And emancipated those cut down and chained because of their “kind”
And gave them a free heart
And a free mind
i.e. I breathe because of what has been planted before me
Like that great oak tree that brought a New Deal to a Great Depression
And fought national poverty
And international tyranny
i.e. I breathe because of what has been planted before me
Like that red maple that wanted to tear a Berlin Wall down
Like that Douglas-fir that was chained for standing against apartheid
Like that quaking aspen that encouraged Americans to ask what we can do for our country
i.e I breathe because of what has been planted before me
Like that giant sequoia that had a dream that one day his offspring would not be judged by the color
of their skin but by the content of their character
i.e. I breathe because of a gardener who took time to water me
place me under sunlight
and take the weeds that might steal my nourishment
i.e. I breathe to let the next generation breathe
for them to breathe the air of freedom
to inhale brotherly love
to take in a sense of pride in themselves
to make the soil they are planted in rich
i.e. they will breathe because of what I have planted before them
inhale
exhale
inspire
enable
live