Reflection: My grandson, Ethan, loves to draw. Inspired by video games and animations, he creates delightfully quirky characters all his own.
Last year we gifted him with a box of drawing pencils, a new sketchpad and a cool pencil sharpener. He was thrilled.
When I recently asked him how he liked the pencils, he told me he hadn’t used them yet. He is saving them up to draw something really good. He doesn’t want to waste them, to sharpen them down, and use them up too fast.
I encouraged him to crack that box open now, and promised that when they were all used up I’d buy him another set. No special occasion required.
At nearly eight years of age, he seems already to have adopted a ‘save the good things for later’ mindset.
It’s the same kind of thinking that causes us as adults to keep the good china safely in the cabinet, a vintage car locked in the garage, a special dress or a tux under plastic in the closet, and a fine bottle of wine tucked away in the dark of the basement.
That kind of thinking can also lead us to keep our best talents – our light and our uniqueness – hidden under a proverbial bushel basket.
What are we waiting for? Why are we robbing ourselves of the joy of using these fine and beautiful things?
Action: Do something daring today. (more…)