“For everything you have missed, you have gained something else; for everything you gain, you lose something else.”
– Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)
Because there’s only so much room.
Dad always used to say, “You can’t get two bushels in a bushel basket.”
And, even in a day when fewer than ever use terms like “bushel” and “basket,” you can’t.
When we’re young, we can pack more and more and more in. We have, it seems, infinite capacity for learning, for emotion, for stuff. As time goes on, though, we start to reach capacity.
The Three Who Will Not Be Tamed often say that “their dinner space is all filled up, but there’s still room in their dessert space.” We reach a point, though, where even our “dessert space” is packed.
When that happens, we need to cut something loose. To make room. To give us a chance to re-organize, re-prioritize and re-decorate.
What is it that we’re holding on to that prevents us from moving forward? What are the things that we just “know” that we need to un-know, in order to make room for new knowledge, experiences and perspectives?
What stands in the way of making a difference, and why do we honor it with our time?
Dan Miske says
Love the insights, especially the ones from the Three who shall be tamed. There is always room in the dessert space, but how much room depends on how wisely we managed dinner.