Embrace the limitations. Embrace the limitations.
Ha! That's not something you hear every day. Most inspirational speeches start with some "you are bigger than you think" premise.
I was that girl. Still am, in certain circumstances. I'm still the one that will tell you, "This thing you are dealing with, whatever it is, is forming you and you CAN overcome it." Those of you, who know me well, have heard me say some form of this at some point in our relationship. The ever-outward optimist...that's me. Freaking Pollyanna.
Those of you who know me REALLY well, know other things. You know that I doubt much more than the casual observer would ever suspect. You know that I doubt my own intellect, my own body, my own intentions...ultimately my own worth...over and over and over again. You know that I fall on my knees weekly with tears of hopelessness for every single limitation real or perceived that I do not know how to overcome. You know what my 3 am holds.
Do you know, I don't think I've ever heard anyone say..."Embrace those limitations?"
Now to be fair, it's not like other people AREN'T saying the same thing if you look for it. Nick Vujicic is a prime example...here is a guy with no arms and no legs but who was gifted with a charisma that pulls everyone to him. So much so that you begin to not notice that he is merely a torso and a pretty face. Honestly, though, I've never thought of Mr. Vujicic as saying "Embrace your limitations"...more, "those limitations don't MATTER, you are more than your limitations." And he certainly is.
So why does this phrase strike me so much? Well, I've had another week of being discontent in my circumstances. Another week of feeling that certain aspects of my life will NEVER be overcome.
Another week of realizing what a complete failure I am in this certain area of my life...AGAIN...and STILL...after all the times I've tried to overcome this...STILL...this limitation.
The fact is, there are places in my life, limitations in my life that I am NOT overcoming. I AM NOT ABLE to overcome for whatever reason. They are my secrets. They are my 3 am. They are my silence.
It's never occurred to me, to embrace them as they are, love them for the person that they make me, think about staying INSIDE this box and not apologizing for it. Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe I did think about it a little. But not in those words.
You know, on this journey of my life, I've discovered that until I'm ready to hear something, I don't...Not even if you tell me. My focus is where my intellect lies...and if a given topic is not within the realm of my current focus there is not a thing that I can do to force myself to learn and retain the information in a useful way. But, just like when a friend buys a car that you've never heard of and now all of a sudden you see them all over on the road...An idea that strikes me when I'm ready produces a flood of images, some new and some hidden away in memory banks that didn't even remember that they were there, that shapes me.
Embrace my limitations unapologetically, huh? I'm going to have to think on that...
See ya around...
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