What can I do?
April 30th, 2010
What can I do? By Stan Weddle
It hasn’t been too long ago that I had frequent dreams of being able to fly. I could just lean back, lift my feet and float upward and forward at will. I was always reclining and moving forward feet first. I would awaken with the feeling that I really could fly if I just tried hard enough. I never could. I haven’t totally given up on it, but I haven’t tried for a while. I know there are ways to fly with the proper equipment. I’ll have to settle on that if I decide I really need to fly.
There are lots of things I know I can do. I know because I have done them, or seen someone else do them. I know because they are normal everyday activities. Some things I know are possible with adequate training and preparation. To obtain the necessary skills and competence, I have to be committed to whatever it takes. As I have gotten older, I know that I need to focus on fewer things, and do them well. I’ve studied languages in the past and know the amount of time and practice involved to be proficient. I am beginning to learn another language. It is not at the top of my list of most necessary things to do, so it will take longer. I have a strong desire to learn, so I won’t give up on it. I am training for a run in a couple of months. It is important to me so I will keep focused on doing my best. I have a long list of things that interest me. They are in what I call my “could do“ list. Given the time and circumstances, they can be moved up in my “must do” list. My “could do” list will contain things that I won’t get around to during my lifetime. I review them often to make sure I’m not missing something that I “must do.”
In The Path of Least Resistance, author Robert Fritz says, “If you limit your choices to what seems possible or reasonable, you disconnect yourself from what you truly want, and all that is left is a compromise.” The truth is we all make compromises. We give up purely selfish choices for our families. In doing so, we turn family interests into what we truly want. In the end, we do what is most important to us. Our passion determines our action. We choose our priorities.
I know many things I can’t do. I know I can’t do them because I have no desire to do the necessary training and preparation. I simply am not interested in doing them. Some are just impractical based on my age and physical abilities. Some are just physically impossible. I don’t say, “I can’t,” to many things. But I know my practical limitations.
There are many things I can do as an individual if I set my mind to it. There are also many things that I can do as a member of a group. A large enough group can elect a president. A committed group can create a country from a colony. A group of people focused on a strong belief can change the world. By working together on a common goal, things that seem impossible can be accomplished. Afterward, it seems silly that there was ever any doubt that they were possible.
There are so many things that I can do, could do, and must do, that I don’t have to cling to impossible fantasies and dreams. Doing the possible is enough for me. Almost anything is possible.
Previously published in the Harper County Herald, in my column, I Wonder…, and published here with permission.
Filed under: Philosophy, civilization, personal responsibility, self-improvement