Overwhelmed with the things you can't do?

Overwhelmed with the things you can’t do?

Have you thought about all the things you can do?

Are you ever overwhelmed by the amount of interest you have in the world, or the amount of talent you’re waiting to prove?

Why not?

Why do you only think about the things you can’t do?

You know…

You can bring a smile to anyone’s face. You can cook an outstanding baklava for your mother when she’s feeling lonely, or give your sister a quiet place to rest when the noise of her life is too much. You can look fear in the eyes, and tell it you’re going to survive. You can be a sheep or a lion. You have it all within you.

You can start a business; you can learn a new skill; you can create a poem, listen to your neighbors problems when she doesn’t feel like she has any friends, and ride a bike through the pouring rain. Begin again, rekindle a friendship, or just step into the pool for the first time since that accident.

It’s within you. Don’t doubt it.

Stop stopping yourself with the things you can’t do, because we all can’t do everything.

You can sing off key with your family a song that’s been passed down for generations. You can love a dog so hard it hurts when you think about the future. You can be funny, or serious, or encouraging. Brave, gentle, loyal, tough and soft. Nothing is impossible. You can hike up a mountain, or just walk around the block enjoying the simplicities of your life.

And what about all that stuff you can’t do?

You can’t ever remember where you put stuff, or get to your destination on time. You can’t ever eat at a Michelin Restaurant because you can’t ever make enough money. You can’t draw as well as Shinji Ito, or play the guitar even enough to pluck out your favorite chorus. You can’t fly a helicopter, or operate on an open heart, or think of the next letter of the alphabet without going through it from the top. Honestly. What CAN you do?

You can feel like you’ll never be good enough.

You can pity yourself, and convince others to pity you too, if that’s what you want.

You can feel the weight of the world and choose to collapse and crumble.

Or

You can do what you can do.

You can believe in yourself and your abilities, and believe you are enough, and you are important. They can't do what you can.

Because yeah, you’ll never have as perfect a body shape as Kim Kardashian, but you CAN be a beacon of light and safety and love for those in your life. You can be a constant source of inspiration for the young people in your life that look up to you. You can travel, learn, love, forget, remember, and grow. You have your skills-your destiny. It will never be anyone else's, and theirs will never be yours. And that’s why you can’t do it.