Try Everything.
A million childhood wishes narrowed down to one job and one hobby – until she decides to want everything again.
Every child wants to try everything; then someone checks for talent at the door. Bella traces the narrowing honestly – a million questions shrunk down to find a job, one hobby, keep your head down – and then refuses it in the simplest way there is: she decides to do everything that comes into her head.
What makes the refusal solid is that she doesn't smuggle ambition back in. She asks what "success" even means and settles for satisfaction and experience – singing, drawing, sharing because it interests her, not because a verdict is coming. Coming Alive starts from the same discovery: the assumption that to become more alive we must do more, reach further, become more – and the answer that aliveness was never behind that door.
The voice that says you're no Picasso doesn't get argued with here. It gets thanked, like an old caretaker relieved of duty – and then she decides for herself.
Do you remember how, when we were little, we wanted to try everything? We had a million questions, and just as many ideas and wishes. We wanted to sing, draw, dance, fly to space and be a doctor. And quite often, especially if we didn't have a big talent, we were told we didn't need it. We weren't going to become a musician, an artist or a poet, were we? And so, little by little, our wishes, our passion, our interest in everything around us narrowed down to the size of: find a job, one hobby, and keep your head down.
Remembering that recently, I decided I want to do everything that comes into my head. Sing, draw, write a blog, share, learn, create. And maybe I won't succeed in a single one of these directions – and by the way, what does "success" even mean? So even if I don't become great at one of these things, I'll get satisfaction and experience from doing them.
How often have you wanted to do something, but that voice got in your way? You won't get anywhere, it won't work out, you're no great Picasso, etc. Well – not everyone is born great, so to speak, but that doesn't mean we have no right to do the things that interest us. If there's something you've always wanted to try – now is the time. Say thank you to that voice, but you're not a child anymore: you can make your own decisions and do what your heart is drawn to 🩷
Thank you for reading.
If her words reached somewhere mine don't – good. That's what this blog is for. Take what fits and leave the rest.
– Jan