Inspiration In All Its Forms

All around the world people are starting to rediscover what their bodies were designed to do, they are beginning to rediscover what it means to constantly improve and not lay stagnant, to trade in comfort for evolution, to give up laziness for ambition, and to re-kindle the love for the art of movement, physical challenge, and play, that so many people forget during the pressures that come with entering adulthood.

The human body, a piece of art that has dominated all other species on this planet and has risen to the top, to a point where life has become so easy for us that our own tools are now the very tools that contribute to our demise. With a combination of agility, strength, and wit that is unmatched by any other species that we know of, we have managed to come through the ages moving from strength to strength and to achieve the unachievable time and time again.

Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately) our achievements of getting the most out of the least possible effort have come at a cost, as the desire to make life easier and easier has resulted in us doing less and less. This in turn has created a massive imbalance in our physical bodies and minds. Never before has disease been more of a threat to the human race as it is in the current moment. Never before has mental illness and depression taken the minds of so many people, with millions and millions of people around the world currently diagnosed with some sort of depression.

There are endless sources indicating that most socially detrimental human characteristics (such as drug addiction, Alcoholism, depression, and mental illnesses) are a direct or indirect side effect of the lack of physical activity, inspiration and enjoyment that we now miss out on in our everyday life as a result of our ever “improving” lifestyle. The human body was designed to be physically challenged on a daily basis. This is what we now call exercise, normally carried out in a gym by most modern people, and normally viewed as a “duty” due to the lack of inspiration in the mind of the person calling it that. Even on the modern day treadmills, you can choose to take your mind of the “dutiful pain” that you have to go through, by watching your choice of TV channel.

Lack of inspiration—a disease of mind and body
The fact is that aside from the very small percentage of the earth’s population who live in a constant state of inspiration, when it comes to MOVING (whatever form it may be) most humans do not get in the required exercise that they need. Now days it is all about “the next thing to do”, a stressful morning full of rush and hurry, to get the family ready on time. Then it is the car, the traffic that is there every morning still has a surprising and stressful effect on the people in it. Then it is work, and for most people this is a mundane task that they feel enslaved in due to the fact that bills need to be paid and debts settled. On weekends it is about escaping the tasks and stresses of the past 5 days. Some do it through lounging for as long as possible, others are inspired by their art form which takes them away (or more accurately, brings them back) and others use drugs or alcohol as a form of escape from all these man made “problems” that we now swim in on a daily basis.

Most people have forgotten what life feels like. All these “problems” that we come across in life really are not problems. They just feel like problems because these matters have become the centre of our lifestyles. For me, the feeling and freedom that I get when training Parkour dwarfs the problems that bothered me the previous day. For the Rock climber, the spectacular view that he gets to witness at the peak just makes his work problems sound silly. The sense of achievement one gets from tackling such a physical task makes all other tasks that a person may have in life, seem not only possible, but an enticing challenge. The afternoon walk that a person embarks on to watch the sun set and listen to the birds as they prepare for the evening is beautiful enough to make him realize just how much of a sin to himself it would be, to stress about some insignificant matter that may have arisen in recent days. These problems that I am talking about do not disappear; they simply become seen for what they are. The solution appears more simple and possible in the inspired mind, and the consequence of no possible solution becomes insignificant.

Due to lack of inspiration in whatever form it may be, humans have forgotten what the real pleasures of life are; to just live in the beauty that surrounds us. A lot of humans do not feel the confidence that their minds were designed to feel that come as a natural side effect of physical achievement. Is this not in itself a mental imbalance for the modern day human? What about the daily dose of natural “happy chemicals” that your body receives as a result of good exercise? Is that not contributing to a physical imbalance? Do you want to go to bed early enough to get up in the morning to go for a jog, in the cold and dark weather to just to watch the sunrise? The truth is that the experience in itself should be motivating enough for a person to do it.

What does it feel like to live with every cell in your body? How do those rock climbers travel the world climbing mountains for fun? Don’t they have normal life pressures that the rest of us have that subsequently hold me back? How do those guys find the time to go surfing before work every day? Aren’t they tired from yesterday’s workload that the boss off loaded onto us? How does that man find the energy and motivation to go to gym every afternoon to cycle for an hour? Doesn’t he get bored on that bike and bored of the unnecessary pain he puts his body through? How does he juggle his family, with his job, and still find time to go for a walk to watch the sunset every evening? Doesn’t he have to prepare for his presentation tomorrow at work that we all have to do? Regardless of their art form (or sport/inspiration/discipline/extramural activity/hobby) these people are all doing one thing. They are all MOVING, not because the doctor told them to, but because they are inspired to.

These people are constantly living. An inspired human being is a happy human being with direction. I can confidently say that they are inspired because only inspiration from deep down within can give you the strength needed to carry out these tasks. What would all these people be doing if they had lost their inspiration? My bet says that they would join the rest of the population in the world today who have nothing to live for but the fear of what the future holds. Would they become a statistic on depression, a statistic on Alcoholism, A criminal statistic, a cancer statistic, a statistic on obesity and high blood pressure? For children, what would lack of inspiration amount to? Them becoming statistics of boredom and everything else that stems from boredom? How would that affect their children eventually? Who would these people become if they suddenly stopped being themselves? And just how powerful is a community of inspired individuals?

Find your inspiration in life. It is not only one thing but it can be many things simultaneously. The reason why I believe Parkour will become an extremely popular form of human exercise and inspiration to the modern man is because of its convenience. You need a pair of running shoes (if you like), and a free mind to guide you through your environment. In a cramp society, this safe and beautiful art form offers a way out for humans of all ages to become one with their modern day surroundings, to re-balance the body thus offering health, and to combat depression and boredom that take up occupation in an un-inspired mind.

Each passion is as good as the next and is even the same as the next. It is all inspiration. Parkour is this same inspiration, in its most raw and convenient form; being inspired by simply moving. Officially, Parkour is defined by “moving from point A to point B in the most efficient possible manor”. But for me, in its most pure form, regardless of the human labels that have been placed on this art form, it is about finding inspiration in movement, it is a state of mind.

The movements differ to those of a surfer, and to those of a kung fu artist. But the essence is the same. The art form provides modern day children, teenagers, adults, and the elderly, with a source of inspiration, confidence, achievement and health. Parkour is the product of an intelligent, inspired and cramped modern day society. Research shows that where there is an active Parkour community, things change for the better. The youth that participate become happier. They find new family, brothers and sisters who they train with every day. They not only find a need for health, but they lose the need for, and no longer see pleasure, in destroying their health. Just this change in a couple of hundred teenagers has the power to affect an entire community for years to come, even generations. It can be done for free, anywhere, any time, with or without shoes, and with anyone.

For some reason the mass population will rather “invest” in harmful medication or mind altering chemicals such as Ritalin to counter the negative side effects of an inactive, unhealthy, or imbalanced lifestyle, instead of going straight to the root of the problem and rectifying the imbalance from there.

What is your inspiration, which inspires you to keep on moving?