Baby Steps and The Nature of Possibility

One day, we wake up and decide that we want to be or do something that is completely out of our comfort zone.

It might be inspired by a random story, a quote, a book we are reading, or…it’s fueled by a person who notices that we have the ability to do something that has been nudging us for ages. This seemingly sudden inspiration infuses itself into our brains and hooks itself to a long-held desire that we somehow submerged.

We never believed we could do this thing – that it was impossible for us.

This person acknowledged the possibility that we could have this thing that we wanted so badly for ourselves. We were afraid to try since we convinced ourselves that we would fail at it. We were confident of our future failure. and so never even gave it a shot.

This person had the audacity to bring it up to us. They noticed something so positive, so life-giving, so what we thought was unattainable for us.

We never realized that we created a big NO that acted as a stone wall preventing us from seeing what was possible for us if we only let that wall disappear.

Certainty is a dangerous thing to growth, especially when it tells us that our goal is an impossibility.

If we accept this premise, then it’s time to stop trusting our eyes and open ourselves. Open up your heart to what is calling you, and at the same time, open your ears to the voices that urge you forward.

These may be internal or external, or both.

We uncover our possibilities through inklings, random statements, or observations that may be clothed in the words of a compliment. Instead of dismissing these as insignificant, pay more attention.

Mary Oliver, the brilliant poet, said it best:

“Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it.”

Possibility is everywhere. You almost don’t have to look – it surrounds you.

It is the focus you place and the attention you give to it that moves it into the space of transformation.

This is the work of encouragement both for the giver and the receiver, and it’s a big YES.