Our Limitations, Our Talents

Today I am grateful for a fresh cup of coffee and for my friends at our local breast cancer support group.

We met last evening and enjoyed holiday treats and conversation, appreciating the fact that we were there together, alive, moving on with life after a breast cancer diagnosis;whether that diagnosis was years ago or more recent.

I have one more fortune cookie prompt to drive my writing this morning:

"Don't let your limitations overshadow your talents."

I believe this is a universal human struggle. Everyone I know beyond a simple acquaintance has this playing out in their lives in big or small ways. We hold ourselves back, intentionally or not, for a wide variety of reasons.

My reasons primarily revolve around fear. Fear of failure. Fear of doing something wrong. Fear of too much time being needed; time that I don't have. Fear of being judged or looking foolish. Fear paralyzes and paralysis limits.

Plenty of progress has come for me in my efforts to recover from alcoholism (and the negative thinking that accompanies it) and make my perception of self and surrounding world healthier with regular gratitude practice. I can stand up and say one of my talents is writing and not shrink into self-doubt immediately. That is progress. 

We can help one another by encouraging and complimenting. By offering support in the form of listening or simply being present. By not letting our own limitations cause us to get in someone else's way.

That is my goal today: stay out of the way. Let things unfold as they were meant to.