Changing “I Can’t” to “I Can With Help”

This Saturday, September 11, I will be one of the artists participating in the 19th annual Music Is Art festival at Riverworks in Buffalo.

As part of my display, I had a banner created with the cover of my book, The Space Between Notes, which is the primary book I will be featuring there, and a quote I created that ties in with the book.

In my mind, I knew how I envisioned displaying the banner. Once the banner was finished, I journeyed to the hardware store to pick up what I needed for my display. But visions do not always match reality, and after visiting a number of hardware stores I returned home, my hopes crushed. Assembling the display would not work the way I had planned. I would have to scrap my dream, and display my banner in a different, less visible way.

For about an hour my disappointment ruled my heart. Then the thought came to me, it’s not that you can’t, it’s just that you don’t know how. I needed to reach out to someone for help.

I don’t reach out for help easily. I am used to working my way through my problems and needs. It’s what I’ve done for so long it’s second nature now. I don’t like to make my problems someone else’s, people have enough to deal with in their own lives. This time, though, I knew I would have to ask for help if I wanted my display to be as powerful as I imagined.

My friends Dave and Sandy Reid are among the people I would reach out to. They are both very knowledgeable craft workers. Dave, in particular, is an expert wood worker. I asked him for ideas. Instead of giving me a laundry list of wood items and hardware needed and a set of instructions, he asked me to purchase the wood, then bring it to him. In short order he constructed the framework I needed to properly display my banner.

I am so grateful!

There are so many times we think we cannot accomplish a goal. I am learning, instead, to change my “you can’t do this” moments into “you don’t know how to do this, you need to ask for help” … and then to work through different processes to achieve my goals.