It’s no surprise that I like words. I like reading them, writing them, and looking at beautifully lettered projects.

So, I decided a while back that I was going to teach myself calligraphy. Because what’s one more project and hobby?

For those of you interested, here’s the blog (The Postman’s Knock) that I discovered. It’s fabulous and walks you through calligraphy step-by-step. This blog recommends starting with “Faux Calligraphy”. The recovering Type A in me thought, I don’t want to start with Faux anything. If I’m going to do this, then I’m doing it right. Give me the dip pen right away!

But I’m a recovering Type A (parenthood will do that to you). And I can learn to take baby-steps. So I grabbed my Pilot G-2 like the post says, printed off the practice worksheets, and started with my faux calligraphy.

Well, I suck at it.

I have beautiful cursive handwriting so this should have been an easy thing to pick up. Nope. It’s hard. I couldn’t get my curves just right. Things didn’t flow like I thought they should.

It was toward the end of the school year that I first started this new venture, and I didn’t need anymore stress, so I set aside the practice sheets for another time. If you know teaching, the end of the school year is the second busiest time of year and I didn’t need another stressor.

Fast forward to after school let out. My schedule was more open and my head clear.

I pulled out those practice sheets thinking I’d give it another go. And you know what? They weren’t quite as bad as I remembered. In fact, I nailed it with a few of the letters. Maybe I could actually do this. Maybe I could pick up faux calligraphy and then eventually move on to the real deal with a dip pen. Hmm.

Surprise. This post isn’t actually about calligraphy.

It’s about taking a step back, getting some breathing room, and looking at things with a fresh perspective. Maybe, just maybe, things aren’t as bad as they seemed at first.

Sometimes they are. Sometimes the news is bad no matter how much space you give it. But most of the time, it’s not. Most of the time we can’t see just how good things are because we’re too close to the situation.

I find this with my writing all the time. I have what I think is a fabulous idea, I write it, read it, and then shudder. What the hell was I thinking?! This is garbage! I toss the notebook aside and move on with my life.

Weeks, even months later, I pull it back out and think, Hmm. This isn’t so bad. In fact, some parts are really good. Maybe I can work with this.

Space to think, to breathe, and try something new is a good thing.

It’s true what they say about the grass on the other side. Sometimes we need to step away from our own lawns for a bit to really appreciate the beauty in our lives and see just what we’re capable of.

I’m not giving up on calligraphy. I don’t suck at it. I can learn to write beautifully hand-lettered projects.

I believe in myself. I believe in you, too.

What projects are you struggling with? Do you need space so you can then appreciate the beauty of your capabilities?