SHAUMBRA HEARTBEAT
Impulse or Inspiration
By Jean Tinder
Most of the time, I like my impulses. Whether it’s helping someone out, staying late to finish a task, blurting out a sassy comment, or offering someone the best advice they never asked for, those impulses keep me moving. That also means I’m often busy, rushing, and inevitably wishing there was a cosmic “undo” button at the ready. I learned this pattern early on (where “idle hands were the devil’s workshop” and busyness meant worth), and it served me for a while. Now? Not so much.
My mom recently came for a visit. I hadn’t seen her in a while, and with only two days’ notice, there was a lot of speedy preparations to be done. The guest room was in the middle of renovations, so I temporarily covered the raw walls and made it habitable, even welcoming. Tidying the room, putting up a bit of artwork, and mentally going through a mom-friendly grocery list, I kept finding myself wondering “Is this the right thing? Is that what she wants? What if she doesn’t like it?” There was a lot to do in a short amount of time – the perfect situation to rely on a steady stream of impulses to get everything just right. In reality, I was stressing out, pretending it was love.
Rushing around, mumbling the constant stream of questions and doubts, a thought suddenly dropped in from somewhere wise, and a bigger part of me spoke it out loud: “Her mothering is complete. It was what it was. Now it’s time to do it for yourself.”
Making up the bed, I froze mid-tuck, absorbing that realization. Obviously, it was a statement of fact, but one that hadn’t consciously occurred to all of me before. All those girls inside – toddlers to teenagers – were still trying to get it right, hoping for approval that would never come, at least not from her. It isn’t that she was a bad mother; she did her very best. It’s that no parent is perfect, and now it’s up to me to mother myself.
In a heartbeat, it changed everything.
Instead of a challenging visit with difficult discussions and triggering memories, I actually had an enjoyable time with my mom. Even when topics came up on which we completely disagreed, I was able to maintain compassion and presence – as long as I remembered who was in charge of my feelings! When some part inside got riled up, I was the one to take a deep breath and offered it my own recognition and acceptance, instead of following the old impulse to find it elsewhere. And somehow, it was enough. Needing nothing else, when I followed the inspiration to breathe, whatever part had gotten triggered immediately calmed down and backed off.
Sometime during those 11 days of my mom’s stay, I began recognizing the difference between impulse and inspiration. The habitual impulses were always about doing something – reacting, pleasing somebody, getting acceptance, reassurance, approval, and so on – while the softness of inspiration emerged as wisdom, patience, presence, and compassion.
Pushing versus allowing… it sounds kind of familiar.
A friend later pointed out that an impulse feels urgent. It wants acted on “right now.” We say a child might have a problem with “impulse control” because they don’t know how to manage the urgency of their inclinations and reactions. Inspiration on the other hand is patient, languid, easy. Like taking a breath.
“To inspire” literally means “to breathe.” Inspiration never rushes; it’s gentle, it waits, it flows in the divine timing of my soul. And in that pause – the breath between impulse and inspiration – magic settles in. Wisdom emerges. Presence expands. But remembering this doesn’t always come easy.
This article is a case in point. I’ve felt inspired about this topic since my mom was here several weeks ago, but when it’s time to actually sit down and write, everything else comes up for attention. There’s always an impulse – to have a snack, look at Facebook, sweep the floor – anything to keep moving instead of settling down, softening, receiving, and flowing. But when I finally take some deep, gentle breaths – those literal biological inspire-ations – and become present, everything opens up. Ideas begin taking form. Words stop playing hide-and-seek. The blank page begins to fill.
Impulses are noisy, urgent, pushy. They don’t want to listen; they want to act. They seek relief now, not later. Inspiration, on the other hand, is quiet, patient, allowing. It doesn’t need. It doesn’t shout. It offers lightness, kindness, ownership and understanding.
Impulse requires immediate action. Inspiration glows, gentle and quietly available. Action may eventually happen as part of the natural movement, like the chest expanding with the breath, but it’s not the primary purpose. The outer world is good at triggering our impulses, whether rage or adulation, sympathy or morbid fascination. The vast inner world thrives in the gentle swells of inspiration.
Impulse is motivated by emotion, inspiration by trust. When I trust that all is well, it can mitigate the fiery heat of reaction. And, more than anything, inspiration must be allowed.
When Adamus talks about allowing, it’s easy to think he’s telling us to “Do nothing.” But I feel it’s an invitation to move from impulse to inspiration. Movement – which includes doing – is always involved, because without movement life wouldn’t exist. But when the doing arises naturally from inspiration, it’s completely different than trying to manage my judgy, reactive, needy impulses.
Inspiration whispers, accepts, waits and allows and yes, sometimes I wish it was a little louder. It’s easy for the whispers to be drowned out, either by the clamor of life or the triggers I still carry. But the more I wait for that glow, the less I rush into the storm. The more I allow the inner breath, the smoother life becomes.
Even when a situation feels frantic, inspiration is always available. If I don’t notice it yet, I only need to calm down, take a breath or three, and make space inside for the still, small voice to emerge from the noise. Sometimes I think of it like putting on noise-canceling headphones: nothing has to change out there in the outside world before I can tune into divine inspiration, the breath of God herself. In that breath, I withdraw my attention from the clamor and open up to the bigger picture. These days, that bigger picture is not just a luxury; it’s an absolute necessity!
I need to know that the world isn’t collapsing, that’s it’s actually evolving in the beautiful, passionate, messy fashion of human progress. I need the ability to retreat into myself and put on the noise-canceling soundtrack of acceptance while I watch my fellow humans trying to find their way home. It makes all the difference in the world to my own wellbeing.
Try it sometime! Rather than trying to wrench the world back into order (a noble impulse indeed), take a breath – literally, inspire yourself – put on some heroic soundtrack, turn off the shouting voices, and witness humanity’s heart-wrenching stumble toward love. It’s what everyone is looking for, after all, whether they know it or not.
I’m still a human, and I still carry a few hair-trigger impulses. But it’s getting easier to breathe first, step back into my Self, and honor all of us as we navigate this courageous journey. We’re finding our way home, and as more of us do, the once barely discernable path back to Self is becoming a glowing highway.
In Metaphysics of the Merlin, Jami spoke of our own incredible future beginning to arrive sooner than we expect. Maybe the triggering event he didn’t know quite how to describe is simply the tipping point – the moment our light becomes so bright it’s finally impossible to miss.
Until then, keep breathing, keep being present, and keep knowing that all is well. Have fun with your impulses – but trust those quiet, gentle glows of inspiration.
Thanks Jean, what you wrote makes sense to me. I prefer impulse and yet I am loved by inspiration. Just as I was typing this the light bulb which had gone out, came on 🙂 It is now flickering. Thank you. (I shared on my Fun with Fables – Victoria Fabling FB site.
Gracias Jean, por poner en palabras lo que se empieza a experimentar en nuestra vida diaria. Será esa “inspiración” fruto de la “Nueva Sintiensa”, en lo personal creo que sí. De pronto es como si viviera en un acontecimiento dos realidades, la de la sobrevivencia y la de la presencia.
Danke Jean, für diese klaren inspirierenden Worte.
Brilliant and helpful as always. 💛 “Allowing is an invitation to move from impulse to inspiration.” is a good takeaway for me! 👍
Jean,
That landed,
big time.
Thank you.
What a great guide to meet our inspirations and – by doing so – to meet ourself! Thank you very much!
Dear Jean thank you thank you thank you 🙏🙏🙏
You never fail to amaze me with your inspiring insights.
THANK YOU ….as always …you caressed my soul dear Jean
Beautiful clairity
Thank you Jean
Muito bom este artigo. Parabéns e obrigado.
sublime “lightingness”, as always. Thanks Jean!
obrigado pelo seu esclarecimento, sempre me movi pelos os impulsos, achando que isto era o correto, agora vejo que antes de tudo preciso me conscientizar da permissão. O mundo não está desmorando, mas está numa jornada em direção ao amor.
Jean, I had to laugh when I saw the title of your article, as I’d been having similar experiences in my art creations ~ experiencing the stark contrast between impulse and inspiration. As usual, I related to much of what you shared. Also, I just want to take the time right here to say what a FANTASTIC edition of the magazine this month was ~ all the articles were so articulate and resonant. It’s easy to tell from reading everyone’s words that Shumbra are now truly going BEYOND. It’s WONDERFUL. So much LOVE, Kate
Köszönöm Jean!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
So beautifully written and read, I loved it, so very comforting.
Lovely, lovely. I love how you write because I can read it and feel it; your words paint a story and I take a journey into the experience of your inspiration. Thank you so much. Delicious.
“What A Brilliant Article, Jean Tinder … I Am Very Appreciative You Have Shared This Wisdom With Me … And So Clear, So Eloquent” ♡ Mem Collins ♡
I love the metaphor of using noise cancelling headphones. And you made an interesting distinction between impulse and inspiration, thank you for sharing your experiences with both. 🙏🏻🌸
Absolutly superb! 🙂
Beautifully written, I feel a soft purrrrr. Thank you for sharing.
Gracias Jean, por señalar los Impulsos que son los más frecuentes, pero la Inspiración también esta dentro de nosotros y con Sabiduría y flujo suave llegar a ella. Gracias por tu artículo me resuena mucho.