ca-pac-i-ty – [kuh-pas-i-tee] – noun – the ability to receive or contain
I tend to think of capacity in physical terms. The ability of my washing machine to hold one more towel. The ability of my refrigerator door to hold one more “work of art”. The ability of my bladder to survive one more meeting…well, you get the idea.
But capacity can also be applied to other things – relationships, emotions, knowledge. I learned something about myself recently. I learned that I have more capacity than I ever thought. More capacity to receive assistance and encouragement from others. More capacity to ask tough questions and listen to the answers. More capacity to focus on what is most important. More capacity to be hurt, but also to heal. More capacity to trust.
This awareness is changing the way I conduct myself. I am more likely to spend extra time with a foster kid – hoping for an opportunity to connect, understand, and encourage, even if their story keeps me awake at night. I am more likely to query foster parents on why they open their homes and their hearts to the children of a stranger. I am more likely to allow others to see my own dreams and discouragement, in the hope that they too will find the story of foster kids irresistable.
But in the world of electricity, capacity has a different meaning.
Maximum possible output.
I don’t know what my maximum possible output is. What I do know is that there are still kids in foster care. And until there aren’t, I will keep pushing, keep stretching, keep putting out more. More vision, more hope, more stories, more opportunity, more resources.
What would the world look like if we were all willing to increase our capacity to receive – to relate and to understand each other, and at the same time increased our capacity to pour out – to reach out beyond ourselves and influence others?
