Toasted Toothpicks
The other day as I was writing in my studio my daughter called out to me. "Mom!, can I put toothpicks in the toaster?" My Mom brain immediately went into overdrive protection mode as I jumped up from my chair and headed for the kitchen to see what was going on. We are teaching our kids to be self-sufficient; however, they still need adult supervision especially when there is cooking, electricity and possibly fire involved. LOL
This is what I found when I entered the kitchen.
She told me that she wanted to make toast for breakfast but we were out the sandwich bread so she grabbed these mini pitas. She quickly realized that if she tried to put them in our traditional toaster that she would not be able to get them out because they were too short. Pretty smart kid, huh?
Her solution was to use a couple of toothpicks to connect the 2 pieces of pita together to make them tall enough to put in the toaster. Was this genius or a disaster waiting to happen? At first I thought to myself, "No way! This is gonna catch on fire. Wood in the toaster. Bad idea." I initially wanted to put a stop to this but then I shifted my focus to ask how can we use this as a teachable moment? I had to let go of my need to know the outcome before jumping in.
"Let's try it and see what happens", I told her. "We will sit right here and be ready in case we need to act quickly." Full disclosure: I am married to a firefighter and have already single-handedly set our old kitchen on fire twice. I definitely did not want that to happen a third time! I surrendered silently and encouraged her to test out her theory.
Lucky for both of us it worked! She made the perfect piece of toast for breakfast and her plan allowed her to easily pick the toast out of the toaster when it was done. Mission accomplished.
As I headed back to my studio it occurred to me that this was an even better learning opportunity than I had thought it would be. Here is my takeaway:
How many times do we want to do something, don't know how or what the outcome will be and we let that stop us from even giving it a shot? Why do we do that? The need for perfection?, not wanting to fail?, worry about what people will think?
My daughter taught me a valuable lesson about letting go and the importance of working with what you have instead of complaining about not having the right tools, equipment, etc. I am sure you can fill in the blank on that statement.
Where have you let not having the right equipment stop you? You say you want to workout and get healthier and you don't have any weights at home. Next time this happens get creative and ask yourself, "what else can I use?"
Did you know a gallon of milk weighs 8 pounds? Hmmm, you could lift that several times instead of using a dumbbell. A grocery bag filled with a few cans of beans or veggies would also be a good substitute.
If you really want something you have to get out of your way and make it happen. It takes creativity, action, determination and consistency. You can't wish something into existence.
I'd like to share one of my favorite quotes from my friend, Marcus Aurelius Anderson. He is amazing and always encourages me to act not just think. #actanonverba
Follow him on InstaGram. You will be happy that you did. And check out his book, "The Gift of Adversity."
DISCLAIMER: I do not recommend you put toothpicks in the toaster.
