Cross-Cultural Inspiration

The comments below appeared in the newsletter of A Network for Grateful Living:

“More often than not, history takes us by surprise. In 1865, chemist Friedrich August Kekulé discovered the structure of the benzene molecule – the foundation for fields like molecular biology and pharmacology – when he dozed by the fireplace and saw in his mind’s eye atoms “turning like snakes” with one snake grabbing its own tail.

In 1946, Mother Teresa was riding a train from Calcutta to Darjeeling when she received an interior inspiration to help the poor while living amongst them.

In 1935, Mr. Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith, both admitted alcoholics, met for what they intended to be a few minutes in the Gate Lodge of the Seiberling estate in Akron, Ohio. Their meeting lasted for hours and became the basis for Alcoholics Anonymous (A.A.), a movement which has changed millions of lives for the better.”

Do these examples represent inspiration, a voice from without making it through the clutter? Or are they merely the result of enough pondering about a subject to make a solution inevitable?