We all feel stirrings deep within us on a daily basis. I’m not talking about physical stirrings like gas or hunger gurgles, but deeper, soul-shaking desires. Sometimes we feel a stirring that causes us to act impulsively, and sometimes we feel stirrings and decide to ignore them altogether.
What I think is even more peculiar than the desires we have is the reaction we have to those desires. Impulsively-answered stirrings don’t always have a happy ending, and the stirrings we often reject and push to the back of our minds could potentially have the greatest results. Socially, it seems to be more acceptable to ignore something we disagree with or situations we believe we could improve. But what if we didn’t push those impulsive ideas to the back of our minds?
April is Autism Awareness Month, and in my family, it has always been a month of celebration. My 18-year-old brother Sam is on the autism spectrum, and April is a month of thankfulness for the unique heart he has. The other day, a friend asked me if my brother’s autism has brought about any challenges to our family, and all I could say was, “Well, I can’t imagine my brother any differently, so who’s to say that there would be more or less challenges if he did not have autism?” He has a compassionate heart and an impulsive mind.
When I think of stirrings and impulsivity, I often think of my brother because I would use both of those words to describe his character. When I have an impulsive, thoughtful idea, like joining someone who is sitting alone in the cafeteria, I use rationality to talk myself out of it every time. My brother, on the other hand, does not engage in the same rationality; he acts on those desires when he feels them. I am so thankful for that example.
This year as I began to think of April and the celebration of my brother, I decided I would act on a stirring in honor of him. Organizing a fundraiser, even when you’re not doing it alone, is an intimidating first stirring to act on, but I attempted to ignore my rationality like Sam would. When I finally expressed it, other people affirmed my idea and decided to join the cause, and it went surprisingly well. It is daunting and overwhelming, but as cliche as it sounds, when we act on the stirrings we feel, it truly can make this world a better place.
I encourage you to act on the stirrings that you feel. Share your dreams and desires with others and more often than not, you’ll find that there’s a stirring in them that reflects the stirring in you.
