I’ve been hearing people say this so often lately: “It’s time to claim your power.” Or, “It’s time to step into your power.” So what is that exactly? Do you have a claim ticket, like when you check your coat and ask for it back at the end of the evening? Or is it something like a circle that you can step in and suddenly be like Wonder Woman or Superman?
Somehow I don’t think so.
Have you ever had a great idea? So great that you thought you couldn’t lose? Or you’d start a business like no one else? Write a song so unique that everyone wondered why they hadn’t thought of it before? Painted the 21st Century equivalent of the Sistine Chapel? How did it turn out?
Maybe a bit like my gardening project.
Today I got spoofed. No, it’s not like being on Candid Camera. Or being ghosted by someone. It’s where a scammy telemarketer disguises their phone number to look like it’s your name and phone number.
And it happened to me every 20 minutes for hours.
When one of our church computers died, we bought a digital audio recorder to record the sermons so we could put them on our website. It should be easy, right? After all, I use one for my podcast. It’s just plug and play.
Not exactly.
I visited friends in Southern California recently, and we walked on the beach looking for sea glass. We sifted through rocks, like one would pan for gold. Looking for some color among all the rocks. I even got to take some home as found treasure
As I was putting it away at home, I wondered, “How long does it take to make sea glass?”
On podcast episode 108, I talked about fear as the one ring that often rules the artisan’s life. Despite our attempts to ignore it or push it out of the way, it sits there and festers inside. Feeding on our attempts to ignore it. It’s only when we face the fear that it loses its bite. Embracing, or dancing with that fear, robs it of its power.
But it’s not as simple as that, is it?
You think you’re not enough to be loved as you are – and you are.
You think you don’t have enough strength to face today – and you do.
You think one person can’t change the world – and you can.
You think you haven’t done enough to help others – and you have.
You think you can’t be forgiven for your mess-ups – and you will.
You think you’re better off doing something yourself – and it takes a village.
You think no one knows what you’ve gone through – and they’ve all felt that pain.
You think you need more to make something happen – and it’s been done with less.
You think you need to just suck it up – when something is clearly wrong.
We all have a story we tell ourselves. Of enough or not enough. It plays in our heads again and again like a broken record. And really – how true is that story? All of it? Some of it? None of it? Is the story helping you live out your purpose? Or is it keeping you small?
We’re more than we think and less than we think, you and I. Enough and not enough.
Enough to be loved and cherished by God.
Enough to be his hands and feet in this world.
Enough to sit with someone else and listen.
Enough to give what we have to help another, no matter how small.
Enough to use our skills and talents to make this world a better place.
We’re not enough to work alone. It’s too easy to get discouraged or derailed. And we’re not good at everything.
We’re not enough to be everything to someone else. Only God is.
We’re not enough to be loved and remembered by everyone. But we are enough to be loved and remembered by those who matter.
We’re created to be enough to contribute what we have to the cause of creating a better world – one day at a time. We’re also created to not be enough to do it by ourselves. We’re created to do it with others.
You’re enough. And not enough. And how you think about that makes all the difference.
What might change if you believed and acted differently about being enough? Leave a comment.
I’m reading the first chapter of Best Self: Be You, Only Better, by Coach Mike Bayer. And right away I’m supposed to do this exercise. Describe my best self. Oh no. I put the bookmark at the page and close it. I don’t know what to say about myself.
The next day I tell myself to just do. I mean, I’ve done harder and scarier things than this. Why am I avoiding this?
You know the story I told a while back about how I thought differently about where to grow my herbs? And they were flourishing in their new spot? You know how the basil in particular was thriving – probably about 4 times the size it’s been in previous years?
Well, I didn’t end up with any.
I had just pulled into the parking garage at the hospital to visit my mother after surgery. You know those garages where you go around and around? There’s one way to park and another to exit, with signs all over the place?
I had just made a sharp right after I got my ticket, when I saw this.
