I want to be famous in the way a pulley is famous, or a buttonhole, not because it did anything spectacular, but because it never forgot what it could do. — Naomi Shihab Nye, Famous
Suzy and I have a saying when we see something we want but can’t afford or hear of some fabulous trip someone else has taken. She or I will look at the other and say, “when we become rich and famous” we will get one of those, or we will do that. Then the other will return us to reality and say, “we are never going to be rich.” And perhaps add, “being famous is not all it’s cut out to be.”
Maybe that’s why I was so taken with the closing verse of Naomi’s poem, Famous. (You can read the entire poem by clicking on the link.) Life is a lot simpler and healthier when we acknowledge our limitations and our dreams are grounded in reality.
But there’s a second part of the wisdom contained in this verse — “never forgot what it could do.” We all have unique skills and talents, even pulleys and buttonholes, and we should never forget what we can do with those. It is within the context of what we can do that that the content of our dreams become reality.
PS: We received two wonderful comments to yesterday’s Pew, The More Dirt You Throw. Take a minute to read, and please never hesitate to post a comment. W.
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