Comments on: Little Gems with Big Promise

By: kelly

kelly — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 11:54:41 +0000

On the verge of turning 40 tomorrow and having always wondered “what to do with my life” or “what’s my purpose” or “what am I supposed to do” — this post is just what I needed to read. Thank You

By: Lily Casura

Lily Casura — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 07:28:14 +0000

That piece was an absolutely beautiful GIFT. It’s almost too sacred a moment to even say, oh, this is what I got out of it…but I got a lot out of it. It went straight to the heart, and the writing was lovely. I fell in love with it at the word “swiveled” and cued to full attention there myself! While I’ve heard the advice before…especially smart people do tend to devalue what they do easily, bc they wrongly assume everyone else can (there’s a whole book about that called “Why Smart People Fail”)…at the same time, I’ve never heard this said quite so … wonderfully. It made me happy you had that relationship with your dad, and that insight…and that you were able to pass it on to the rest of us. I know that what I do “best” or “naturally” is something I would never even realized was a talent, let alone a vital one, but I’m very glad I found it, even though life took me on a pretty circuitous journey beforehand. Thank you for the affirmation this really was for what I do truly know about myself, and now can use with others. Grateful.

By: Parker Vollmer

Parker Vollmer — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 14:24:44 +0000

This is the first thing I have read on this website, outside of Elizabeth’s work. Very good stuff. For those of us in need a sagely influence, this advice was so sound and simple.

Thank you.

Parker

By: Emily L. Butler

Emily L. Butler — Wed, 19 May 2010 18:28:33 +0000

Elizabeth,
I was so moved by the comment you left about my piece. Thank you. I feel you really went to the core about what I was trying to say: we don’t have to struggle to share our real gifts. There is a point where, like you said, we decide “This is Good Enough!” and we put it out into the world. That’s certainly what I did with my piece! I have no writing credentials to speak of, but I had something to say.

You’re so right: our gifts don’t have to be perfected in order to valuable, meaningful and uplifting. I think our society is WAY too focused on perfection and we need to get over it! In fact, sometimes it is the imperfection in something, the frazzled sincerity that comes through a song, or a piece of writing, that can move us the most.
Your comment was from the heart, and it moved me.
Keep writing, and stay connected to your easy thing. This is a beautiful gift, and one that I look forward to seeing more and more of in the time to come…

Sincerely,
Emily L. Butler

By: Elizabeth Wescott

Elizabeth Wescott — Tue, 18 May 2010 15:33:33 +0000

I loved the entire piece. But what really, really got to me is that perhaps when we do the little things we do so naturally and someone appreciates it we might let that appreciation sink in to a level of self-appreciation.

Last night I was contemplating my writing, which comes so easily to me that I don’t work at it. And it’s not polished to a shine. I don’t enter into the editing struggle that would make it an income source for me. And I could use one. I struggle with this a bit – but when thinking about it I realized that I really want to say to the world – This Is Good Enough! What we have to offer, as we are, what comes to us as if it’s a gift to be shared doesn’t need to be perfected (whatever that means) to be of value, to touch people, to be a Moment that Counts. And so for the moment, I have let myself off the hook. My writing is good enough to do what it is intended to do – encourage, uplift, support, and join.

Thank you, Emily,

Elizabeth Wescott