On Doing What YOU Do

Photo & Lettering by Autumn Farrell Matney

I've been thinking about this a lot lately. How I don't want to try and be someone that I am not. I don't want to try and DO things that I am not good at. Don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with trying. Trying new things, trying to better yourself, trying to be different. But I think where we get into trouble is when we feel a sense of entitlement or ownership over something that we're just simply not meant to be or do. But I should be able to do this, I can do this, I AM good at this. But… SHOULD you? CAN you? ARE you? Why do we try and force ourselves into being good or better at something and in the process lose what we really ARE skilled at or meant to be doing. As an artist (and a business owner) I want to focus on the things I (we) can do. Trying new things and exploring new opportunities, yes, but ultimately in the end having enough humility and honesty to step back and say "you know what, THIS is what I'm good at, so THIS is what I'm going to do." It's not about staying away from risk or change or new, but rather staying true to who you know you are.

In a way I think we cheapen ourselves and others when we go about living life thinking we are or can be great at everything. Because the truth is we're not meant to be. Even scripture clearly talks about this, 1 Corinthians 12, one body with many parts. Imagine us ALL walking around thinking we have the gift of prophesy, or healing, or even speaking in tongues. Yikes. God intentionally did not make us to be super men and women. We have strengths, we have weaknesses, we suck at some stuff and excel at others. THAT'S THE BEAUTY OF BEING HUMAN. I would like to see us tap into this a little bit more. Let's celebrate the strengths and weaknesses that make us different from each other. I don't know about you but I celebrate the fact that there's someone out there who knows how to fix my car, or someone who's better at cooking than I am, or people who enjoy doing taxes. There is a difference between just being able to do something and actually doing it well. Anyone can just do something. But not just anyone can do it well.