Tripping Over Typeset

I’ve learned something about my family. — Presentation is everything!

I can go to the store, buy a bunch of great food, bring it home, pack it into the refrigerator and there it sits.

We get hungry or have a hankering from something, open the fridge, stare into it and mutter, “Yep, there’s nothing here!”

But I’ve discovered something.

If I open that same refrigerator, dig out celery, clean and cut it up, spread in peanut butter and place a pretty tray of it on the counter, within 2 hours the whole plate will be empty! Why?

Because to the eye, it looks appetizing, it’s appealing and the “easy-made” mindset of us all says, “Yum!  I’ll grab one of those!”

Now, we don’t necessarily open the fridge and say, “Yum, I’m going to grab out those celery sticks, clean them up, pat them dry, and spread in some peanut butter just so I can have a snack!”  That’s a lot of prep work for just a few calories, right? Instead we’ll grab something easier and yummier — a chocolate bar packed away in the cupboard.

Why? Because we like what’s easy.

Plus food items get lost in my fridge. Items go in and out frequently. Food gets pushed to the back, buried behind left-overs and bottles of condiments.

If I want the fresh fruit to get eaten up, I can’t leave it in the plastic container. Instead I have to take it out, do something with it and give it a chance to be seen and eaten up!

I was thinking about this whole idea over the holidays and I said to one of my kids, “See, presentation is everything. All I have to do is dig it out of its hiding place, set it on the table in a pretty bowl and it’s gone.”

{I know part of the reason this happens is because I have college kids in my home and they are always hungry!}

But there’s another idea rolling around in my brain about this whole concept.

How many times do we open up the door to our own life, glance around and say, “Yay, there’s nothing in here…. nothing too exciting… nothing too good!” And we close the door on opportunities available to us?

I think there’s a lot more potential going on in our lives than we actually give ourselves… and God… credit for.

• Maybe we need to take a deeper look at our lives.
• Maybe we need to do some shuffling around and see what’s really in there.
• Maybe we need to bring out some small ideas here and there, mix it with some other good stuff that we have and see what can be created.

Here’s some encouragement and a challenge for you:

Encouragement:

Seeing and acting on our potential can be imitating. Our own voice can whisper self-defeating words to us.

• You’re not smart enough.
• Others can do it better.
• It won’t make a difference anyway.

But we must push past that and look to the potential right in front of us.

• What is in us?
• What do we really love doing?
• What do we have access to that if we put some work into it, we could put together something really amazing?

I have a post-it note on my desk with these words:

Be Brave. Believe in yourself. Believe in your talent. Build something beautiful with your words. 

~ Joanna Pulcini (editor)

It’s not about perfection. It’s about presenting what you have and making the most of it.

I think sometimes we cheat ourselves out of some real joy in our lives by closing the door on great potential and instead reach for what is easy.

Here’s a challenge for you: 

This week, open the door on your creativity, pull something out that maybe’s been pushed to the back and make something fun, exciting and beautiful!

Find joy in who you are becoming! 

~Rachel

****************************************************