The Gifts Within

     The word "Gifted" when used in context of describing someone, brings to mind someone who is mega talented. They could have the Gift of gab, the ability to put words together to bring people to the same understanding and the speaker. The Gift of sight could mean someone is very artistic and draws or paints spectacular pictures. The Gift of Touch, a comforter or healer like a doctor.

      I believe we all are Gifted in some way or another. It’s just a matter of finding what our gift is and nurturing it. If a child is ahead of the other children in the learning curve and can retain information much easier than others, they are able to be in the Gifted program at their school. As children we have little control over our path in life, so those that are gifted are given a boost to move forward, and the others carry on at the pace dictated to them. Pretty much until adulthood we are following the speed and path of our development, intellectually and emotionally that is dictated to us by others.

    Now, here we are… adults. Now, able to take charge and guide our own destiny. We indeed do find out that we are gifted, some in small ways and others in large ways. I’m 53 years old and still seeking my own gift or gifts. It has taken me a long time to come to this point because I was busy working at what jobs I could get to raise my family and keep them fed and sheltered. My sense of self, my gifts I thought I had, were merely actions of survival and not actions of living. Well, maybe not everything I did but my thoughts were not on doing these things as a way of sharing my talents. I never really even thought much about gifts or talents until recently.

     Just how do we define our talent or gift? Do we really need to define it? I see someone who volunteers their time at a nursing home as having the gift of compassion. In fact, that gift is one I see most often in others. Is a gift something that makes us feel good about ourselves? Lots of people have jobs based on the gifts they have, photographers, writers, actors, doctors and more.

     I think my gift is still rattling around in my head somewhere. I’m super passionate about writing but I loose something between my brain and my pen. My guess is that I need to keep it up and practice and eventually the flow will happen. For some reason it’s also so much easier for me to recognize someone else’s gifts than my own too. That’s alright with me really. I joke about being a cheerleader quite often but cheering people on and maybe somehow helping them achieve their goals makes me feel super great inside. 

     So as I wrap up my mundane blabbering I have one request. Share your gifts with anyone who will accept it. That grouchy store employee at the super market, give him/her a smile and tell them what a great job they are doing. You never know their story and you just may make someone’s life much more livable. Pay forward your gifts, each and everyday.