Inspiration from?

Recently I was thinking about who/what inspires me to keep going. I'm not talking about spiritually but living examples. I thought about my Dad going cold turkey and quitting smoking and drinking and that's a big one. Thing is, neither of those things are an issue for me.
I've watched movies like "Invincible" and "Rudy" and "Remember The Titans" and as good as they are they don't hit the right chord.
Today my dog came up to me with his tennis ball in his mouth wanting to play and I was in awe. Here's this 10 yr old German Shepherd who is blind and has very sore knees, to the point he has trouble on slick floors and hesitates going on them, and he's bringing me his ball to play with him. So I played with him like he was a pup. As long as he can hear the ball hit the walls he can find it.
This got me thinking how I have no right to complain or not get off my behind and start getting exercise or working around the house etc... I guess I just needed to look closer to find some inspiration and appreciation for making more of each day than I have been.
I'm done babbling, anyone else have a story?

You brought back some memories... my inspiration is a dog, too.

Yellow lab, battling auto-immune disease, only 3 years old. I trained her as a hunter... ducks and upland game. Absolutely awesome hunting dog. She LIVED to hunt.

It's the day before we were to put her down, as she was going down hill fast. She limped over to me with my hunting boot in her mouth.

I took her for her last "hunt" by taking her to a nice flat creek were there were always quail and ducks. She chased birds for an hour before she just couldn't walk any further.

Drive, determination and the desire to do what you love.

r2eng said:

Drive, determination and the desire to do what you love.

Click to expand...

I think that's a key note to this thread, and life.

With all the distractions, responsibilities and obligations in just living these days, there are few who find it and can pursue it.

Me, for example, have many loves in life; finding the time, and the MEANS to do them, well that is a different story...

After all I've been though, the accidents, the injuries, the verbal abuse, the pain....I really don't know what keeps me inspired and what keeps me going. Something does, but I'll be damned if I know what it is.

: shruggs shoulders :

: Goes back to Beer :

+10 (SADLY)... My shoulder just cracked (oh wait it does that every time I rotate it)...

I swear I have SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder)... That or holidays just emphasize what I normally ignore.

BAH! BEER!

You guys have it right about the dogs!

When I think things suck I just think:

I could be one of those poor bastards in Africa somewhere weak and gaunt with flies crawling in and out of my gaping, starving mouth. Watching my children die of curable illnesses like diarrhea or malaria.

or

I think of our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan getting shot at everyday. Thousands of miles away from the people they love. Many of whom have children they have yet to see.

or any myriad of the like. Sometimes it puts things into perspective, sometimes it just makes me angry...

My son. He reminds me of me so much when I was his age. After what I have been through the last 8 months, he is 100% the reason I am still here typing.

My two boys (5 and 3). I think about them all the time when I'm away at work (for 24 hours straight) and how my oldest has within the past few months totally turned into Daddy's boy (while my youngest is still in the Mommy phase) He wants to do EVERYTHING with me.

That's what keeps me from doing stupid **** at work that would otherwise put me in the ground.