Potential

Ever sat down and considered the things you could be doing? If you could get up the guts, the willpower - and in only a few cases (surprisingly) the cash? We all have so much untapped potential just lying around, waiting for us to do something about it.

Here's a couple of things on my potentials list, off the top of my head:

* Touring Africa. Yup, packing up the kid and our lives and following roads is still on a shelf in the back of my mind. The spirit of exploration lives on, in every daydream.

* Cooking up a storm. I know I'm a good cook, and I love doing it. So why am I not doing this full-time? It's just a tiny supplement to my income currently.

* Farming. Another dream. A place to live and grow and have the family over for holidays. Kids swimming in the dam, gathering around the big old wood table at every meal, firesides and treehouses. Birds and animals and a big kitchen garden. Space and nature and an orchard out the back. I've had an image of this dream in my head since I was a kid - I wonder if it's already a physical place, or if it needs me to bring it into existance... What's stopping me? A regular job? Too many excuses?

* Creating a bunch of stuff. I've got all these ideas knocking around my head, and yet the Full Time Job doesn't allow time to do them. Everything from greeting cards to tactile home-ware to paintings and wooden goodies. There's designer clothes that both look and feel good, there's home-crafted hand-dyed thingies. Nifty gadgets and cool problem-solving stuff. Long, long list!

* Pre-fab houses. Funny enough, I've done so much research on these that I could start designing and making them. There's really no suppliers here in SAfrica - there could be a big market for the things, and if they're really cool (yet cheap) I'd make a killing.

* Running a gathering place. Think coffee bar, delicious food, comfy couches, celebration space. And a whole lot more.

* Working for change. I'm a closet environmentalist. I know I could be doing more to make this planet a better place. I'd love to be creating community through public space, sustainable housing, organic food production and local time/resource investment opportunities.

So why am I not doing all this, and more? Perhaps I'm scared I'll be successful. Does that make sense?