you get to want what you want
Every Fourth of July in our old suburban hood there was a parade followed by an ice cream social.
One year, as I was waiting in line with my daughter to get ice cream, I heard one of the moms say, as she was scooping the precious balls of cream, “You get what you get so don’t throw a fit.”
Before I move on, it’s important to underline that I am not chastising this mom for saying this. Who this mom IS matters. Who you ARE matters. Who I AM matters. Who every ONE is, matters.
At the time, I had not heard the phrase. I remember thinking, “I don’t like that.”
All these years later, I see why. It is the antithesis of CREATIVITY.
Wanting something … to have something, do something or be something is the ONLY reason needed to have, do or be something you want to have, do or be.
Wanting or desiring is of the Soul. Yes, the Soul is the arbiter of our PREFERENCES. And expressing the Soul through our human is CREATIVITY.
Creativity is my birthright. Creativity is your birthright.
The phrase says it’s not okay to have a preference. A preference says I like this one over that one. In the movie Runaway Bride, Julia Roberts played the part of a woman who loved whatever her boyfriend at the time loved. She had no idea what her preferences were...she had no idea who she WAS.
To innovate means to invent, originate, modernize, transform. Innovation depends on people feeling emboldened to BE WHO THEY ARE, SAY WHAT THEY SAY, DO WHAT THEY DO AND WANT WHAT THEY WANT.
Words are powerful. What do you REALLY want? What vision do you want to HOLD for yourself, your community, the world?
A friend of mine likes to say, “our family is easy, we’re not picky.” This may be true. But I’m telling you, everyone has preferences. It’s that many live in a reality where the conditioning tells you: Just accept it. Do not be a bother. Do not have preferences.
The truth is, your preferences … what YOU WANT … are part of what make you WHO YOU ARE.
I’ve had to face feeling bad about myself (shame) around wanting what I want and BEing who I AM. I’ve lived my way to the place of knowing not only is it okay for me to want what I want, it is my utmost personal RESPONSIBILITY.
Notice that I did not say people must GET everything they want. I said, we get to want what we want. And if you want to throw a fit when you don’t get it, you can do that too.
Creating a brand new world depends on looking deeply at the EVERY DAY habits we have and assumptions we make, having the COURAGE to reconsider them and be open to the NEW.
WHAT DO YOU WANT?
xoxoxoxo