One of my favorite places to drink awesome coffee and sit on a very comfortable leather couch is the Brass Horn Coffee Roasters, LLC in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, pictured below:
Truly awesome coffee.
During a recent visit the comfortable leather couch I usually sit on was occupied as were the fabric covered chairs. Photo for reference:
While I was setting up my laptop at one of the wooden tables and seating myself in one of the uncomfortable plastic chairs, I spilled my 16 oz. Honey Lavender latte (made with almond milk and additional espresso shots) all over the table, my lap, and my legs.
Thankfully no coffee got on my laptop.
Photo for reference, though not an actual photo of the actual cup or actual spill:
In the photo below you will see three red arrows. The red arrow pointing to the space directly under the chair is where the spilled coffee pooled and slowly dried. The red arrow pointing to the chair is where I was sitting. The other red arrow pointing to the table was where I was sitting. Sitting in spilled coffee. My pride was such that I refused to leave and as a punishment sat in the spill I caused.
Further compounding the frustration was a bearded business professional who was sitting on the comfortable leather couch, having a loud business-related conversation using wireless earbuds.
Yes, this was one of those people who wanted everyone present in the Brass Horn to know that he was having an important conversation with another important person who we could not see, but serious business was being discussed, so we would just have to deal with the noise!
Important business!
Wireless earbuds!
Photo for reference, but not the actual person as I did not want to interrupt his important conversation nor draw further attention to myself and the spilled coffee:
One of the most frequently used words by the bearded business professional was the word “potential”.
“That has potential” or “this person has potential…”
I really wanted to ask the bearded business professional what he meant by “potential.”
How did he know that the person, place, or thing he was talking about had “potential?”
What if didn’t have “potential?” What would he do about it?
Furthermore, can “potential” even be measured so as to confirm that a person, place or thing’s “potential” is legitimate?
Is “potential” all in the mind of the individual?
Inquiring minds, namely my own, would really like to know.
In pondering the meaning of “potential” as I heard it used in the conversation of the bearded business professional, I have come to conclude that the entire concept of “potential” may very well may be an illusion, albeit an illusion that way too many people, myself included, believe is entirely real and entirely plausible.
Let’s be honest, the word “potential” is a very vague and ambiguous way of assigning future value or opportunity to a person, place or thing.
It’s similar to saying that a person, place, or thing has “promise.” Can the “promise” be objectively measured and, if so, what does it look like?
More importantly, what if the person, place, or thing’s “potential” or “promise” is never fulfilled or cannot be fulfilled.
Who are we are to even assign value to the “promise” of a person, place, or thing if we can only quantify it by observation or, at best, an educated guess?
What then?
For example, if I were to travel to Las Vegas and enter one of the many casinos open for business, I have the “potential” to win big and the casinos would most likely assure me that I have much “promise” as a gambler to win big!
However, my “potential” and “promise” are dependent on a number of factors, many of which are within my direct control and many, many other factors are completely out of my control.
I am a lousy poker player, a lousy blackjack player and I do not have the patience for dice-based games such as craps or roulette. All of these factors suggest low probability for any sort of success in gambling in Las Vegas.
The source of the low probability is me and my lack of talent or interest in card games or games of chance or any game that is available to play in a casino.
I may break even if I make wise decisions regarding how much money I choose to spend and what to spend it on, but no amount of emotional handwringing or wishful thinking will change the fact that the odds are against me.
Whatever “potential” I may have to win big probably only exists in my imagination.
Photo for reference:
When it comes to money, do I really want to rely on “potential?”
If we’re being honest, the odds are very much against me winning big in Las Vegas and there is little that “potential” or “promise” can do to argue against this. Take that, bearded business professional occupying my spot on the leather couch (if anyone remembers him at this point).
Another example, and I do love examples, is the “potential” I have for going into space as an astronaut.
Photo for reference:
Again, the odds are very much against me and do I really want to rely on the “potential” that it could happen? I think not.
The reality of these two examples is that “potential” is not a very useful construct.
What we are dealing with is actually and more accurately called “possibility.”
It is “possible” that I could win big in Las Vegas, but not overly probable. I can increase my probability by making specific choices.
Probability is the reasonability of an outcome happening. It is dependent on factors grounded in reality.
And reality is not open to negotiation.
And I am okay with that.
I promise you, dear reader, I am going somewhere with all of this.
The following reference photo is inaccurate and not very useful:
“Potential” is too problematic.
In regard to people, I propose that labeling someone with “potential” is problematic as when said person does not realize the “potential” that others have assigned to them, all parties involved are at a disadvantage.
It isn’t useful to project “potential” onto a person as that person has to make their own choices in a sea of possibilities. The projection of “potential” onto someone else does not consider the entire dimension of what makes a person a person.
The point being is that I have had enough birthdays to realize that if you live for the satisfaction of others you, yourself, are the one who will be the most disappointed.
A more effective approach would be to say that person has a lot of “possibilities”, and we can encourage them to make the most informed decision about the choices available to them.
Remember, friends, choose “possibility” over “potential” as possibilities are endlessly optimistic.
I promised that I am taking this train of thought to a meaningful destination and in my rumination on the dangers of “potential” and the optimism of “possibilities” a creative writing opportunity emerged and was committed to words.
In the next section I present a creative writing exercise inspired by the spilled coffee and bearded business professional which all occurred in the Brass Horn Coffee Roaster, LLC, Murfreesboro, Tennessee.
Similar to Only So Many Unicorns, the idea for a creative piece about “potential” appeared in my mind’s eye one morning and quickly took shape over a four-hour period.
The bearded business professional who was overusing the word “potential” was an event that happened at least two weeks prior to the time and date of the first draft of this entry which was Friday, March 3, 2023.
The creative process works in funny ways.
Sometimes ideas arrive fully formed and it is just a process of writing the words and sanding away the rough spots.
Other times the pieces must be assembled with patience and careful consideration, similar to a Mosaic or a puzzle:
When I started writing this post a few days after spilling my coffee at the Brass Horn, I had the seed of an idea about the illusory nature of the word “potential.”
For your reading pleasure, I am proud to present two versions of a poem that is appropriately titled Potential.
The first draft, Version One, was pieced together over a four-hour period on Friday, March 3, 2023, between 12 noon and 5 pm.
The big idea was there, but the pieces had to be captured and committed, lest they disappear from my mind’s eye for all time.
The second draft, Version Two, was revised two days later on Sunday, March 5, 2023. I had an idea of what I wanted to change, but most of the adjustments came to me in the moment.
I found the following quotes helpful in trying to balance a coherent, creative reasoning as to why “potential” can be dangerous word and why I am choosing to replace “potential” with “possibility.”
Quotes from writers superior to myself:
“Uncertainty always creates doubt, and doubt creates fear.” — Oscar Munoz
“Life is full of change and uncertainty. We know this. We experience it on a daily basis.” — Carre Otis
“Exploring the unknown requires tolerating uncertainty.” — Brian Greene
Potential (Version 1, First Draft)
Potential, dear friend, is what we all have
Until we don’t have it any longer.
Potential, dear friend, is what we all want to see in others
Until we can longer see it as it may have never really been there.
Potential, dear friends, is what keeps our hopes alive
Until reality says otherwise, and reality will always have the final say.
Dear friends, I worry that my potential is not what it once was.
Or perhaps
I lost my potential somewhere along the way.
Did I leave it somewhere?
Was it taken from me when I was not looking?
Did it ever exist, or did I just want it to exist?
Inquiring minds would like to know.
Dear friends, I worry that that potential is, perhaps, an illusion.
A shiny perception
A figment of our imaginations
An artifact of the primordial brain to distract from the sting of reality.
Reality, dear friends, always gets the last laugh.
I must conclude, dear friends, that Potential is a distraction from Uncertainty.
With Potential, the “may be” seems almost possible.
With Potential, the “could be” seems plausible.
With Potential, the “what if” sees the Sun as always rising in glorious morning!
The potential of another day, a new day, a reprieve, an additional chance, a new possibility, one last sunrise before midnight.
In my misplacement of my Potential, I have found Uncertainty.
And Uncertainty is the voice of the Devil
Whispering in my ear
That all is lost
There is no hope
This will not end well
If it ends at all
And there are no guarantees, of course.
But you already knew all of this, didn’t you?
Uncertainty is a product of fear and a cousin to despair.
In my Uncertainty, however, I am confident that
Tomorrow
The Sun will rise in glorious morning
And the Possibility of a new day will be mine once again.
Written by Andrew F. Rosbury
Friday, March 3, 2023
Potential (Version 2, Second Draft)
Potential, dear friends, is what we all have
Until we don’t have it any longer.
Potential, dear friends, is what we all want to see in others
Until we can longer see it.
(as it may have never really been there)
Potential, dear friends, is the currency of the culture
And those with ridiculous potential are those who are ridiculously rich.
Potential, dear friends, is what keeps our hopes alive
And sometimes hope is the only penny left in our pocket.
I worry that that Potential and its brother Possibility are, perhaps, illusions.
Shiny perceptions
Figments of our imaginations
Glittery words that we assign to the young to evade despair
Artifacts of the primordial brain to distract from the sting of reality
Brief reprieve from the inevitable last laugh which we cannot avoid.
If I had potential or possibility then I must have misplaced them somewhere along the way.
Left them a on street corner or in a hotel room or the lobby of an airport.
Or, perhaps, I only believed that I had potential
The shine of the illusion too great to resist.
If I knew at one time then such knowledge now evades me
And in the vacant space of Potential is a dark spot
whose name is Uncertainty.
Uncertainty has a pet.
A dog.
A dog whose name is Despair.
I regret to say we’ve met before.
In the absence of Potential (and Possibility)
Under the crushing weight of Uncertainty
A small point of light remains.
The promise of a new day
The sun rising in glorious morning!
Written by Andrew F. Rosbury
Sunday, March 5, 2023
Sometimes a second draft leads to an improvement in language and a more even voice. In the creative process small things are often the most important. The big idea remains as it is, but changes to small things are almost always an improvement.
In my history of creative writing, I can only think of one time in which a major overhaul of an idea led to an actual improvement in the creative piece.
Ironically, the prime motivator for the overhaul was extreme frustration and annoyance which then merged with an experience and resulted in a much more effective and emotionally resonant work.
Creative writing should use language to piece together an image or series of images in the mind’s eye. A big idea made up of smaller, individual pieces. A mosaic if you will.
A third and probable final version of Potential was waiting in my mind’s eye one morning about a week after writing the first rough draft of this entry.
This version is not as optimistic as the previous two, but I would say it is the sharpest and most lean of the three versions in its core message.
Potential (Version 3, Third and Final Draft)
I am no longer convinced I have “potential”.
If I had it at some point then I must have misplaced it
in an airport lobby
it in a hotel room
on a street corner
loaned it someone who never returned it
or, perhaps, it was never there to begin with
and I just convinced myself that it was.
I have misplaced my potential and
if you have seen it then please let me know.
What is “potential”, really?
Is it something that we have
Is it something that we are given
Is it something that is innate and emerges when the time is correct
Or, I wonder, is it simply an illusory concept
A glittery word that we assign and project onto others
to distract ourselves from despair
A promise that somehow, some way the outcomes will be different
And when the outcomes are not different, “potential” gets the blame
if it was ever even real
And I am not convinced it is.
“Potential”, dear friends, is an illusion
A distraction from uncertainty
A reprieve from the long laugh of reality
and reality always get the last laugh.
Instead of potential, dear friends
I propose possibility.
Possibility is a game of choices
the outcomes dependent on the choices made
by the Individual
the optimism is endless
And
If Reality has the last laugh
At least
I can choose to ignore it.
Written by Andrew F. Rosbury
Final Version Saturday, March 25, 2023
Let’s be real, folks: this entry does not have “potential”, rather, it is highly probable that it is an effective post as I put in significant time and effort in making it as useful and relevant as I could.
If my reasonings on “potential” and “probability” and “possibility” are incorrect, the errors are my own and I offer whatever apologies necessary.
Andrew F. Rosbury 
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