My husband has a few “home pants” that he only wears around the house. You know… the kind that are made from soft, comfortable material and seem to survive years beyond their intended lifespan.
The other day, I noticed that the drawstring from the waistband of one of the pants had come out, leaving the waistband loose and saggy. “I’ll restring your pants for you a little later” I offered, silently adding the quick task to my mental to-do list.
“What’s the best way to re-string it?” my hubby asked, not wanting it to be a burden.
“I have a great method!” I quipped. “I secure a large safety pin to the end of the string and then I guide the pin through the narrow opening in the pants and all along the waistline. Makes it much easier!”
“Oh, really? That’s pretty smart!” he replied. I smiled, admittedly a little chuffed that I had this golden tidbit of knowledge that would set me up for efficient success.
A little later, I sat on the edge of the bed, secured the safety pin to the string, eased the pin through the drawstring hole, and started to gently glide the pin along the narrow waistband. I had managed to pull the pin about five inches through when it stopped moving completely. No matter how I tried to maneuver or manipulate the pin through the fabric of the pants, it wouldn’t budge. It wouldn’t move forward. It wouldn’t move backward. I even tried yanking on the rest of the drawstring that was still on my lap, but nothing happened.
Puzzled, I studied the fabric around the spot where I knew the pin was lying inside. I could see tiny bits of the pin through the outside of the pants. The safety pin had opened up! Each time I tugged at the drawstring, the pin gathered more and more fabric from the pants, effectively rooting it right where it was. I closed my eyes so that I could concentrate, and I tried to visualise exactly what was going on inside the waistband and to use my fingers to free the pinned fabric and force the pin closed so that I could pull it out. Nothing worked. The more I fiddled with it from the outside, the more I managed to muddle the inside.
After a few minutes, I was fed up. I took a scissors and made a small incision at the spot where I could feel the tip of the pin below the fabric. I was then able to pull the pin and the entire length of the string through the little hole.
I stared at the pants and string in my hands. Not only was the string still out, but now there was a hole in the waistband that needed to be stitched. I had given myself more work!
I quickly got my needle and thread and slowly stitched the hole shut, being careful not to sew the narrow passageway for the drawstring closed. Now that that was done, I picked up the string and – without the safety pin – pushed it through the drawstring opening in the pants. I then carefully continued to guide the string along the entire length of the waistband and all the way through the other drawstring opening. That was it. Without the use of any external aid, I was able to restring the pants in a matter of seconds.
Simple as that.
As I watched the restrung pants, I couldn’t help but wonder how many times I had done this in other areas of my life…
How many times did I approach a task with professed experience and strategy, only to overcomplicate the whole thing?
How many times had I relied on external aid because I believed that what I inherently knew or had wasn’t enough?
Or worse… how many times have I looked at something – anything – as difficult and then on that assumption alone not even attempted it, fearing that I just didn’t have what it took to get it done?
The answer: far too many times.
I’ve come across a useful question recently, one which I love to ask myself and others now:
What if it was easy?
What if all the fluff that we deem necessary to prove our experience and ‘know-how’ is superfluous?
What if the process of appearing successful has nothing to do with actual success?
What if that thing that we are overthinking and putting off because we don’t believe that we are good enough is attainable?
What if living simply, fully believing in ourselves and our abilities, is the way to move forward boldly in our lives?
What if it was easy?
And what if I am already enough?
The more we sit with these questions, the more we dismantle the things that seem too big or too hard or too unattainable for us.
The more we sit with these questions, the more we discover just what we are capable of – if only we believe in our ability and in ourselves.
The more we sit with these questions, the more we see that we already have everything we need in order to move forward in our lives.
We are already enough.
What if it was easy?
What would you do then?
What would you try in that case?
What can you do now?
Sit with these questions.
And know that you are already enough.