I Wish I Could Do That

By Paula Renaye

I love handcrafted jewelry made with crystals, stones and natural materials, and I greatly admire the skill and artistry it takes to do that work. It’s one of those things that I think I’d like to know how to do myself and have said so quite often.

 
About four hours from where I live here in Arkansas, USA, there is a lovely historic town built on the side of the mountain. Founded in the early1800s around dozens of natural springs, the place was known for its healing waters by the original occupants long before that—as is the town where I live. Both places have similarities, but are quite unique in their personalities and “feel,” and I love them both.

 
On a weekend trip not long ago, I was wandering through one of the unique little shops and found a handmade pair of earrings with yellow-green turquoise, sticks, bamboo and beads. They “spoke” to me and I absolutely had to have them. Being a bit of a “things have to match” girl, I asked the owner of the shop to make a necklace to go with them. She did, and when I came back an hour later I was amazed how it turned out and wanted wear it immediately. However, without a chain or something, I wasn’t going to.

 
Gold and silver just didn’t work with the tone of the natural materials, so I opted for a brown cord. I expected her to just tie the ends of the cord together and be done with it, but instead she began fashioning a two-sided slipknot arrangement, explaining that it would be easier to adjust the length and the knots would add interest as well. She whipped the cord around this way and that, and in about a minute, I was wearing my new jewelry. 

 
I’ll admit I was baffled by how easily she did all this—the jewelry making and the cord knotting. I am equally baffled each time I put the necklace on. I have to stop and figure out which of the cords to pull to make it adjust and then pull the different one on the opposite site.

 
No, it probably isn’t nearly as complicated as I make it, and I keep saying that I’m going to take the time to stop and really figure it out so I can at least adjust it more quickly. But I don’t. Why? There’s only one reason—it just isn’t important enough.

 
When we don’t do what we say we want to, it doesn’t mean we’re lying. There really is a part of us that wants what we say; we just don’t want to badly enough—something else is more important. 

 
When I’m getting dressed and in a hurry to be somewhere, I use that excuse for not taking time to figure out the slipknot secret. But the truth is, if I really wanted to learn how to make jewelry—or even operate the cord better—I would have already taken the time to do it. I haven’t and odds are I won’t. Other things are more important. 

 
And that’s okay! What’s not okay is when we keep saying we’re going to do something and then don’t ever do anything toward making it a reality. So, here’s the deal, we either do what we keep saying we want to or quit saying it. 

 
I don’t care if it’s lose weight, get another job, move, eat better, be less critical and judgmental, exercise more, get a divorce, whatever, we either need to do it or simply admit that we don’t want to and stop putting it out there as if we do.

 
Saying it may keep it as a real possibility in our minds, but what it’s actually doing is teaching that deeper part of ourselves that the conscious “me” can’t be trusted to do what we say.

 
So, if at some point the words “I wish I knew how to do that” or something similar slip out of my mouth, I will immediately follow it with “actually, I just really admire the skill, talent and effort it takes to produce such beautiful products.” And, I would admire myself if I did.

 
Even though this scenario may seem inconsequential—it isn’t. Every time we come clean with ourselves and speak truth in one area, we take one step closer to owning all our truths. 

 
Once we truly know ourselves and are really good with it, the words “I wish I could do that” won’t be in our vocabulary because anything we truly wish we could do we are.

Paula Renaye is the author of the multi-award-winning Hardline Self Help Handbook. Visit her website for more how-to tips at http://hardlineselfhelp.com.