In Others’ Words: Knowing

 

photo by clung/stockxchng.com

“I think knowing what you cannot do is more important than knowing what you can.” ~Lucille Ball (1911-1989), comedian

When I was younger, I thought I had to do it all. I wasted a lot of time trying to be someone I wasn’t. Case in point: From my teens to twenties, I took three sewing classes before I realized that I cannot sew. For me, sewing is one huge math problem, only with material and a machine thrown in for added fun.

When I was 30, I gave away my sewing machine to a friend who needed one. I haven’t missed the wretched thing.

There was a certain freedom in watching my friend walk away with my sewing machine. Finally! No more feeling guilty that I wasn’t sewing like everyone else. Reality is: Not everyone else sews — I just convinced myself that every other woman in the world sewed.

As I embraced all the things I can’t do — crafts, couponing, cook gourmet meals — I discovered what I could do. In the process, I discovered the real me — not the me I thought I had to be.

In Your Words: What have you discovered your cannot do?