Sitting at a football game recently, I saw two little girls occupying their time by coloring in the bleachers as their (probably) older brother was down on the field worrying about much more important things than what color red to use for the chimney. And that got me thinking about how we all grew into the people we are today where following the rules and coloring inside the lines is what makes the picture perfect. How many times have we been told to stay inside the lines when we color? Have you followed the rules when it comes to painting by number? Do you look at the color key and decide that number 5 brown is the main color of the horse? OF COURSE!!! We all have!! We were trained to do that!! No wonder why we have such a hard time doing anything else! Do you see how we were conditioned to follow the norm because of preconceived notions created by other people who did the same thing when they were younger? Recently, I had an opportunity to spend some time with some great young people who see no lines and are going to be the ones that define them. Their ambition and futures look bright and I KNOW that nothing is going to stop them. If any of them are reading this right now — you know who you are!! If you look back at everything great that was ever created, it was thought of and developed by those people who didn’t let a line — imaginary or real — define where they would go. They lived as if there was no line — I just didn’t exist. Nothing is impossible. When you are given a chance to be creative and make it up as you go along, take it. Society and conformity say you can’t because change scares people, even though they begin to embrace it once it becomes socially acceptable to do so. Perfect example — how many of us grew up without computers, cell phones, or an iPod? Yeah, me too. What generation is the biggest purchaser of these same items? You guessed it…the same generation. But instead of being someone who follows along and picks up the new Apple device that came out this week, YOU be the one with the big idea. DO NOT let anyone else mandate what can or cannot be done. Personally, I become more determined when someone tells me I can’t. We cannot help it — our creativity was trampled at such an early age and no one ever taught us how to get it back. They might have tried, but there were still rules in place, so our true soul could not be free. It is ok to color outside the lines and it is ok not to follow the color guide when painting by number. Because the truth is, life is not like that. It is not meant to look like a masterpiece when everything falls into place, so we need to know how to deal with that too. Encourage creativity and do not fall victim to the lines someone else placed there for you not to cross. They don’t exist. Remember that in this one life you have been given, that you need to love what you do. If you don’t, change it. This song reminds me of many things, but especially to push the limits!! “I’m Alive” by Celine Dion
Michelle A. Homme 2103 ©
