INSPIRATION

For me, to be inspired is most important. This is especially true because institutions that are supposed to inspire us as children and adults, schools, television, music and newspapers, often do not do so today. Each person will find different sources of inspiration. In this article, I will mention books and individuals who have inspired me besides the usual ones. May they do the same for you, and may you go on to inspire others.

R. Buckminster Fuller, born in 1895, was an architect, designer, scientist and philosopher. After being kicked out of college twice, he went to work in a factory and was soon inventing better machinery and loving every minute of it. He went on to develop a whole series of items from a car that got 100 miles to a gallon of gas with a conventional engine to the geodesic dome. He began the manufactured and mobile home industry and predicted the computer revolution we have today. He coined the term 'spaceship earth'. He was at least 100 years ahead of his time.

What distinguished him the most, however, was his positive outlook on the world and the benefits of technology to lift the world out of poverty and misery. I had a rather negative attitude, popular today, until I ran into Buckminster Fuller's writings and began to realize he was correct.

He stood in stark contrast to all the doomsayers, and he has been proven correct over and over again, perhaps because everything he said was backed up by careful scientific analysis. Doing more with less, he said, is the key to humanity's survival. Though not easy to read, he wrote a dozen or so books that may be found in libraries or used book stores. I doubt any are still in print, though he influenced many, many people.

Through several personal crises (he was alcoholic until age 40) he never lost his faith in the power of truth and integrity, the title of one of his books. He always asked what one, not-powerful person could do to change the world. He used the analogy of the tiny rudder on a large ship turning the ship around to illustrate how a single person, with understanding, could cause change far out of proportion to his or her size or position.

Booker T. Washington grew up as a slave at the end of the Civil War. He talked a white lady into teaching him to read. Through many trials and tribulations, he eventually opened the Tuskeegee Institute in Alabama to educate black people. Not only did it accomplish its purpose, but it pioneered many new educational ideas for the entire United States. Booker Washington's story is dramatic. Everything the man thought and said is worthwhile listening to. He tells about it in his book, Up From Slavery. It's probably out of print, but available at libraries or used book stores. It ought to be required reading, both for inspiration and for practical guidance on how to live your life. I recall him saying that discrimination will always exist. Spend your time and energy becoming very responsible and skilled at what you do. Then you will win the respect of good people everywhere. You will never win the respect of bigots, so don't bother with them.

George Washington Carver was born a slave at the end of the Civil War. He was orphaned a few days after birth when his mother was kidnapped. He was left to die by the kidnappers. A white woman found him and she and her husband raised him.in Missouri. He had an unusual ability to make plants grow and eventually became a fabulous soil scientist. He saw how cotton was ruining the soil in the south and taught farmers to grow legumes to regenerated the soil. He single handedly developed the peanut as a crop for southern farmers, and came up with some 300 foods and dishes made entirely of peanuts. His story is one of success against great odds and truly inspiring. Look for his biography in the library.

Maria Montessori was a medical student in Italy when she was assigned to take care of a group of orphans. Through careful observation, she not only improved their health but had them learning at rates much faster than what could be done with regular educational methods.

One secret was to allow the natural rhythms or cycles of attention of the children to remain unbroken. Another was to realize that children at different ages learned differently, and what she considered important often had nothing to do with what the children considered to be 'the lesson'. It is a more natural or holistic approach that involves vastly more respect for the natural learning patterns of children.

She developed the Montessori method of education, which has yet to be understood by the vast majority of educators. One reason for the failures of 'modern schooling' is precisely the lack of respect for the natural learning system of children. Even among Montessori schools, her wisdom is often not fully appreciated. Her biography is available at libraries.

Nikola Tesla was a contemporary of Thomas Edison. While Edison was very impressive (he drove around in an electric car in 1890), Tesla lived a far more incredible life. He emigrated from Yugoslavia to New York, and there gave the world most of the electrical inventions we take for granted. Tesla discovered alternating current, the AC motor, X-rays, radio, radar, television, microwaves, robotics, star wars technology and dozens of other inventions. Many of his inventions have yet to be developed.

The life of Tesla is yet another inspiring story of how one pennyless man changed the world for the better through his own efforts. Several biographies of Tesla are in print and available in libraries, though his name is rarely mentioned in history texts.

Dr. Paul C. Eck was a mineral researcher from Chicago who settled in Phoenix, Arizona. An avid reader of biology and health-related material, he managed to synthesize a dozen or so concepts of natural healing, modern biology, physiology, biochemistry, toxicology, mineral analysis and related sciences into what he called mineral balancing science. It is the work I do today, and I was privileged to spend 14 years learning from him.

His dedication was amazing, and his brilliance was in no small part a product of that dedication. He stuck with his principles and had a grasp on human systems principles that I am still in awe of. He did little writing himself, and I ended up publishing probably the most complete book on his work.

Thomas Jefferson was a remarkable man - as were a number of the American founders. HIs depth of intelligence and knowledge put all modern statesmen to shame. His story, along with that of Adams, Madison and many of the founders of America, is also dramatic and most inspiring. The entire story of the founding of America is just amazing, given the odds against its success.

The wisdom of Jefferson, Washington and the others birthed a nation unlike any that had ever been seen before. Those who denigrate the founders because they were slave owners or for any other reason just demonstrate their ignorance. Their stories are human, yet they had a vision that is rare as can be.

Jefferson wrote quite a bit, and his writings have been collected by various editors and authors.

These are a few of the souls who have inspired me. I suggest surrounding yourself with inspiring, uplifting books, tapes, and people. Get rid of everything that pulls you down. This will do more for your health and well-being than most treatments and pills.

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