It's OK To Be Clueless

I first came across Martha Beck through her amazing book called "Expecting Adam", a New York Times Bestseller real life chronicle of how her life was transformed through the pregnancy and birth of her son with Down Syndrome. It completely rocked my world! Click here to buy it on Amazon. I highly recommend it.

Well, it so happens that Martha Beck had so much more up her sleeve. She is a well-known author and lover of nature, a regular on the Oprah Winfrey show and dedicates her life to providing tools to help empower people to find their passions in life.

Today's Daily Inspiration; a daily email I receive from Martha's site talks about self-consciousness and states:

In the beam of imaginary spotlights, many of us suffer untold shame and create smaller, weaker, less zestful lives than we deserve. Terrified (highlighted by me...we'll come back to this word :)) that the neighbors might gossip, the critics might sneer, the love letter might fall into the hands of evil bloggers, we never even allow our minds to explore what our hearts may be calling us to do. These efforts to avoid embarrassment often keep us from imagining, let alone fulfilling, the measure of our destiny.

Since I began staying home and my job with my husband's small business was over, I was excited to embark on a new journey. A journey that has always been in my heart. The thing is, it's got so many different paths I wonder which path I should take? I have a passion for writing and for creating things...all kinds of things from graphic design to handmade items like refinished furniture, upcycled decor and custom art prints and invitations. From a business standpoint, I feel like I'm a mess! I see all these talented bloggers and artists that have honed in on one particular passion and it seems that they have found their One True Calling! But is it possible to have a few? Is it possible to excel and not only find joy in several passions, but be able to create a lucrative business from it?

I find that my fear of not having it perfectly figured out and feeling self-conscious are keeping me immobilized. FEAR. That is the core of all the other feelings I'm recognizing within me. Fear of failure. Fear of disappointing my husband when I can't bring in the little extra income that could help our growing family. Fear of not knowing what kind of business I want to create yet.

Then I received another similar message in a book I borrowed from the library called: Handmade To Sell by Kelly Rand. Second paragraph in Chapter 2 jumps out of the page for me by basically smacking me in the face and saying, Gwendy: don't stop yourself from starting just because you don't have it all figured out at the moment. More than one successful crafter out there has at one time or another admitted, 'I don't know what I'm doing!'

Well, that was a relief! There it was in black and white. Other people feel as clueless as I do. And that's ok. Why should I know exactly where I'm going before I take that first step? That's where faith comes in. I've got to move in ANY direction if I want to make something meaningful happen.

There is one poem that has played a huge role in my life and it's meaning once again comes back even years after I was required to memorize it in 7th grade. I can't recall her name but I remember that no one liked her because she was strict and serious and would yell often through a large gap between her front teeth. But there was something about her that I liked. I think it was the way she looked at me like I had something special. I didn't understand it, but I liked it. One day she walked over to me and announced that I would be memorizing a poem by Robert Frost called The Road Not Taken. I would be reciting it at the next school award presentation...in 2 weeks. It wasn't a question, it was a declaration. And oh how I thank her to this day. What a powerful poem to have in your heart for most of your life. Eloquently written and simple enough for anyone to relate to, it talks about that moment we all find ourselves in where we have to decide which path to take and how choosing the one less traveled by takes immense courage.

Robert Frost (1874–1963).  Mountain Interval.  1920.

The Road Not Taken

TWO roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;	5
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,	10
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.	15
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.	20

Which leads me to today's blog post title and affirmation: It's OK to be clueless. It's OK to be afraid to fail. But we cannot allow that to stop us from action. I'm happily accepting failure today. I'm accepting that I might get some raised eyebrows from friends and strangers alike at my blog or items that I eventually decide to sell. But if I can inspire someone else out there through this blog to put aside their fear along with me...well maybe that's the core of all of my passions. Helping others. Inspiring others. Making a change and shifting perspectives that will keep us moving forward. Toward action and away from fear.