Information VS Inspiration
- Jon Michael Babb
- Jun 19, 2021
- 3 min read
Updated: Dec 7, 2021
According to WordReference.com, the suffix -ation is defined as such ,"to form nouns, with the meaning "state or process of".
It is used to differentiate some verbs into nouns. Now what brings this up? Well, on my Various Quotes page (https://jonmichaelbabb.wixsite.com/steadfastvariation-1/various-quotes), I say in the header concerning the included quotes, "...at least it's my goal to find the most inspiring—so hopefully you'll exit out of this page inspired or at the very least informed." Reading that over and over again brought to mind that some people can walk away from certain inspirational works completely inspired and enraptured (as is the goal with such works), but others just simply informed—blind to the emotional mountaintop moment experienced by the former. Why is that? Well, I'm not sure yet. But let's walk through some possibilities. So, in continuing the grammatical archeology dig from earlier, we know what the shared -ation does, but not its different "Info-" and Inspir-" beginnings. According to the same website, inform means, "knowledge communicated or received concerning a particular fact or circumstance," while inspire means, "to fill or affect (someone) with a strong or uplifting influence," or ,"to communicate or suggest by a divine influence." Both are about communicating an idea. Both inspiration and information contain the quality of "Inform-", but not necessarily the other way around. What is true grammatically seems to be true phenomenologically.
So you can be informed without inspiration, but you cannot be inspired without being informed. That appears to give inspiration a higher communicative value than simply informing. After all, why would anyone want to just inform someone without also inspiring? It's like cathedrals. The various medieval builders could have just gone the easy route and not have put stain glass in their works, but no. Simple windows would have conveyed the point and have provided enough light to see everything well enough. But they went the extra step. They conveyed beauty through the information and made it colorful and beautiful. In order to make a verb a noun, you have to add an extra step—you have to work for it. You have to add the -ation. It's harder to convey information and be inspiring while doing it, but it pays off and as a result is more valuable. When you try and inspire someone, you not only inform them, but give them the desire to go out and return the favor. The Eifel Tower might inspire a great architect to give it his all in his next project, or The Lord of the Rings might inspire anyone to give it their all at story telling (the medium of a work does not appear to limit inspiration. Musicians can be inspired by books to write better music, or music and musicians alike can inspire authors and all sorts of different people).
So what's the use of knowing these qualities of inspiration and information? Well, it takes more energy to get to a spot where you can be inspired. You have to climb the mountain before you get a mountaintop experience. You have to be well versed in a field before you can fully comprehend and apply it. Maybe the fact that some people walk away uninspired from inspiring things is because the people that can be inspired are more versed in the ability to inspire. After all, it takes a trained eye to spot another trained eye, and it takes a true master to pick a correct and useful apprentice for the future.
Well, I'm not quite sure how you can apply what I just wrote about. Perhaps I informed but did not inspire? If you were inspired, comment down below and let me know some possible purposes for this observation and how you were inspired. If not, lemme know what I could change about this short essay.
References
"...Or the one who has years of business experience, has seen success, and is now infusing you not merely with good information, but with his/her lived experience in that realm?" I agree. The meaning behind someone's words must have true authority to be impactful. For instance, I am a business major, but have never run a business. I could spout off business fact after fact, but why listen to me over the words of a true businessman? I have business information, but no authority to have that information be impactful.
"Another important aspect, I believe, is when information diffused is infused with lived experience." I sense lived experience within your response, and true authority in what you say. Thanks…
A few ideas, reflecting on your entry. First, some people possess gifts of communication that simply enable them to use language in a way that inspires. If one believes in God, and accepts the premise of Divine Inspiration, then we know that God uses the written word (scripture) and the spoken word (Christ, the apostles, and the prophets) to inspire the recipients of those words. Words matter and some have a real gift for expressing ideas in a way that inspires. Of course, as you noted, the arts can provoke similar inspiration when one is gifted in that realm. Another important aspect, I believe, is when information diffused is infused with lived experience. I am a strong believer in the notion…