pat, pat, pat

I just can't stand it. The patting to be comforted. The kind that comes with real touch is bad, but the kind that comes in the tone of voice is even worse. The worst times are when it accompanies an explanation of why you can't possibly do or accomplish what you are thinking about.
"Oh, honey, you aren't savvy enough to run a business." pat.pat. pat.
"Oh, I know that you really like to draw, but you just can't possibly make a living at that."
pat. pat. pat.
"Yes, everyone wants to be an astronaut, but that just isn't realistic." pat. pat. pat.
"Wouldn't it be nice to be an actor, but you just don't have the right look." pat. pat. pat.
"Yes, it would be nice to go into medical research, but you are no Einstein." pat. pat. pat.
"Lots of people write, but it's not realistic to think that you can write a book." pat. pat. pat.
Yuck. It's funny how people try to pat away the deepest, most painful things in our lives with real pats and try to pat away our passions and hopes and dreams with the word pats.
Grown-ups do it to kids all of the time. And to each other. "Oh, Rhonda, they are just being realistic." No, they aren't. Realistic is to find good places for a kid to take his or her passions and run with them. It's encouraging them to go as far as they can go.
I have lots of artist friends. Most of them will not be as remembered as Michaelangelo. Maybe so though. The thing is that we just don't know. But what I do know is how passionate they are about what they do.
You know, realistic is just a tether. It wasn't realistic at one point in history to think that I would be sitting here on my bed with a computer that fits on my lap that has as much memory as a computer that took up a whole building. Yet, here I am.
And, I can get on the internet on my itty bitty little phone.
Life isn't about realistic. Life is about dreams. Passions. Vision. Miracles.
In the Bible, a donkey talked. A virgin gave birth. A sea opened up into a dry highway. A man built a boat for all of the animals to live on. A woman turned to a pillar of salt. A baby survived the massive Nile in a basket made of reeds. A whole nation followed a cloud by day and a flame by night for FORTY years. Those things just aren't realistic. They are totally out of the realm of realistic.
Now, it's unrealistic to say that you are going to be a mathematician if you never study math. It is unrealistic to think that you can possibly be the best ballerina if you don't put in the time. Or the best at anything if you sit on your buns and don't take any action.
But, on the other hand, just because you aren't the best at something doesn't mean you shouldn't pursue it. If you love to dance. Do so.
If your heart dreams of creating beautiful art. Do it.
If you desire to travel the world over, go for it.
Don't let the pat. pat. pat words keep you from it. Ever.
I think maybe people do it to keep the status quo. To keep anyone from breaking free. It's amazing how we like our little ruts. Don't be afraid. Do something different. Be braver than you think you are. Because the hardest part is not going to be doing what you love. The hardest part is going to be when the people you love simply don't understand. It's going to be when they pat. pat. pat you. And you think that they are right. And you quit. And live a mundane life.
You were made unique. Be unique. Be YOU. Nobody else can be. And if you aren't, you don't know, you can't even see how different the world will be.
Your skills. Your passions. Your hopes. Your dreams. They matter. They will touch the lives around you. And you never know how what you do will spark something in someone else. Maybe something really great.
Be you. Refuse to be pat pat patted into a life of what is only realistic. You are a miracle. Let your life be one as well.
blessings,
rhonda