Can’t do attitude

Sometimes I demonstrate spinning in public places.  It might be part of an historical reenactment, or a craft fair or some other public event.   

When I do, inevitably at least one child will come up and ask “can I try?”  I let the children come around the spinning wheel, put my arms around them, and guide their hands while they draft the wool, and I treadle.  After a couple of minutes, I take the yarn they just made off the bobbin, let it ply back on itself and give them their “first yarn.”  

Just as inevitably, at least one adult will watch me for a while and then say “I could never do that.”    Never do this simple thing that humans have been doing for thousands of years!  I smile and say “Sure you could, if you want to.”  They shake their heads and go away.

So here is this: there are all of these children, convinced they can do anything, and all of these adults, convinced they can do nothing. So when does this happen - this “can’t do” attitude?  When and why does this happen?  How do people get to be so broken?  

I don’t have the answers - I’m just throwing this out there.  That the future of all of us depends on getting over this - on changing “I can’t” to “I can.”  Because we have some really big problems to solve, and attitude’s kind of everything.  

Meanwhile, I can spin, and I can weave, and I can share that with anyone who thinks they can too. 

Even babies can figure out how to weave!