Do all you can do

Is it the army that has the motto "Be all you can be?"  I've been thinking about that this morning as we embark on the new year.  That phrase has two meanings to me--neither of which appeal to me as a choice for 2012.  Being is simply existing.  We are already that--each and every one of us--until we die.  No distinction there.  The army quote has more to do with belonging to something or being a certain "thing."  Be a soldier, be a good citizen, be a helper, be a mom, be a friend . . .

But these are labels and for some reason I've begun to shun labels of all sorts.  Rather than "be", I want to "DO". 

I don't want to be a writer, an artist, a musician, a photographer, a gardener.  I simply want to be a person who does those things without being pigeonholed.  It's like I told my son-in-law when he bought those spandex biking shirts and shorts, "Now people will expect you to be a serious biker."  For that reason, I won't invest in any spandex bike wear.  I wear regular shorts and shirts when I ride my bike and feel no pressure to compete, but to simply sail along at my own pace enjoying the wind in my face.

Maybe it's a cop-out or fear of failure.  Could be, I don't know.  All I know is that I desire the freedom of doing things without judgment and with no expectations for a certain outcome.  I don't want to carry labels as if a thing defines me and not the other way around.  At work I'm called a technical writer, but to myself I simply do technical writing.  At home I putter around the garden, I play at the piano, I dabble in water colors.  If I achieve any degree of success, it's a delightful surprise.  And if I have failures, well I'm no pro, so I can expect those.

The one exception I make to labels is "grandma".  I am a grandma through and through and there I demand of myself the highest quality output.  But it's pretty easy being a grandma.


So my approach in 2012 will be to do all I can do.  Shun labels.  And not worry about success or failures -- it's all part of the process.