When Push Comes to Shove

Sisterly love.

She can get away with it.

Bold. Aggressive. Presumptuous.

Knocking down my fears. 

Vetoing my excuses. 

Prodding my procrastination.

"Don't be afraid. Just go make art." she says, "And lots of it."

For the love of little sisters.

That is what I am dealing with.

Somehow I find myself committed to an art & craft show. What was I thinking to let her convince me this was a good idea? No doubt it's our family dysfunction at play. My inability to say no. Or better yet, the manipulation of the baby. 

It's an outrage.

But given 10 seconds of reflection I realize she is doing me a favor. Being generous. Giving me something I can't give myself.

Permission.

To try. To explore. To grow.

She shoves me past the invisible door of my own resistance. Freeing me from reluctance. Loosening the grip of fear.

Just like that.

One shove.

One shove to put me over the edge.

Maybe I was just playing it safe behind the screen of a website. Avoiding uncertainty. Side stepping risk. I don't want to minimize the leap it took to to do all that. It was valuable. And hard. And scary.

But sometimes you need to take the next step. And the next.

There are times when I need a good shove. And someone brave enough to do it.

What's your next step?

Need a shove?