A relaxed walk in town with my son on a Sunday afternoon. Mild weather, people smiling, a sense of lazy ease in the air. As we turn a narrow corner minding the bicycles, we come across a piece of interesting street art.
In a small park with bushes and patches of green grass – a few randomly-placed iron spheres of various sizes.
My son points out to a huge sphere, almost triple his height and announces out loud with pride:
“I’m climbing that one”.
I think to myself:
“No way will he succeed!”
Hoping my face didn’t give away my thoughts, I stop talking and kept my mouth shut. It proves to be a good decision.
I spend the next 45 minutes watching my son saying to himself, countless times, before running toward the sphere to attempt climbing it:
“I can do this! I can do this!”
Only to see him seconds later glued to the sphere’s base.
I secretly believe he would not succeed and start preparing myself to console him when he’d eventually give up his idea to climb the slippery iron spheres 3 times his height.
But he keeps trying.
He keeps encouraging himself.
He keeps changing the distance and speed until he manages to climb all the way to the top.
And then: the joy! The excitement!
He does a little happy dance, singing on the top of the sphere:
“I knew I could do it! I knew it! I knew it”
He goes on and climbed the tall sphere 2 more times before we call the day and continue our walk, heading back home.
Him – with a huge, content smile on his little face.
Me – thinking of how I learned once again to not let my own limitations stop him.
He thought he could do it. I didn’t.
He learned to trust himself.
I learned I don’t have the right to tell others what they’re capable of.
Don’t let anybody tell you you can’t do something.
“I knew I could do it!”