I just finished watching Jerry Maguire. Mary and I started it together, but she left partway through to go ice skating with friends and I decided to finish it on my own.

At the end, I was left feeling introspective, contemplative. Movies like that leave me wanting to be a better person. Certain books sometimes have the same effect. They make me want to approach life in different, more effective ways. I want to rethink what I put into my work and into my day-to-day life. Even moreso, I want to rethink my approach to my personal relationships.

Sometimes I tsucessfully act on the inspiration. Things feel so much better when I do, and I can feel healing and growth in my relationships. Unfortunately, it never lasts. Somehow I always fall back into the same old stagnant patterns. Strangely enough, in Jerry Maguire a bit character had a line that touched on that topic; she asserted that it's hard to change behavioral patterns because our neural pathways have already been formed in certain ways. That may be so, but I don't think it has to constrain me. I just need to find a way to hold on to inspiration, to remember it even after the initial glow has faded.