Limitations are inevitable. They’re ubiquitous. Striving for a reality free of limitations is a fallacy. To make progress not every limitation is worth pushing against. Making headway sometimes means negotiating, and even cooperating with them. Everyday I wrestle with, “what is possible?”
Hypothetically Speaking
The hypothetical is that exactly that, hypothetical. Possibilities will always be infinite. Reality has confines.
Even people with plenty resources can deplete them. The world’s richest or most endowed can squander what they have. Even plenty has limitations. They may be greater than most people may be familiar with, but they, nonetheless still exist.
Today, thanks to Liz Fosslien in particular, I remember that even while I can do so much, I can only do it in certain confines.
Freedom And Frustration
This is frustrating and liberating at the same time. Liberating because it frees me from unrealistic expectations of myself and others. Frustrating because I want to live in the realm of the infinite possibilities, always.
The pedestrian—incremental dynamic of accomplishment is underrated. I’m reminded that even while the possibilities are infinite, accomplishment and progress is finite. It is measured in an obscure reality of the predictable mundane. Possibility is framed in what is possible between sunrise and sunset.
As frustrating as it is, it is how we edge closer to the infinite. Yes, even the impossible. We surmount the insurmountable in slow motion. We paint one pixel at a time. The movie is a result of setup—start—go—stop—and—repeat.
What Can I Achieve?
In the end it is not about everything we can do, it is about the best we can do with what we have in the time we have. Everything might be possible, but it is only possible through what you can do in each day.
PS: if you aren’t already, follow Liz Fosslien on Instagram. You’re welcome.