The Talent and the Crowd. Yeghishe Tadevosyan. 1909. Wikioo
We all have special gifts and talents, even if we are not aware of them, even if we do not admit to having them. Generally, we need to look at what we love doing, what fascinates us, in relation to our individual, unique, skills. There are many phrases that metaphorically express this idea, such as ‘whatever lights our fire,’ ‘floats our boat,’ or ‘puts the wind in our sails.’ With this approach, we may find our special gifts, our passions in life. If we focus on our potential and what we are good at in this way, we will likely discover our own unique qualities and find within us a whole world of possibilities. Many quotations and writings about our giftedness refer to talent as a flower blooming or blossoming. We are all born with blossoming potential and life is surely about developing this precious gift to the fullest.“I believe that life is a journey, often difficult and sometimes incredibly cruel, but we are well equipped for it only if we tap into our talents and gifts and allow them to blossom.”
Les Brown
John Singer Sargent – Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose. c. 1885. Wikimedia Commons
“Life is not easy for any of us. But what of that? We must have perseverance and, above all, confidence in ourselves. We must believe that we are gifted for something, and that this thing, at whatever cost, must be attained.”
Marie Curie
- Childhood pursuits
The Little Reader (Little Girl in Blue) (c.1890) by Pierre-Auguste Renoir. Wikimedia Commons
Jung counsels us to reflect on our lives, our childhoods, and to remember what we loved to do then. It is often the case that, as adults, we naturally continue developing these innate abilities from childhood, either as a hobby or for a living.“What did you do as a child that made the hours pass like minutes? Herein lies the key to your earthly pursuits”
Jung
Marie-Denise Villers, Young Woman Drawing, 1801. Wikimedia Commons
“Everyone has unique gifts and talents. What you love is what you’re gifted at. To be completely happy, to live a completely fulfilled life, you have to do what you love.”
Barbara Sher
Clara Taggart MacChesney – Girl Reading by a Window. (Before 1928.) Wikimedia Commons
Nothing is more beautiful than seeing a child light up with enthusiasm for a favourite pastime. The zest for life, the energetic, uninhibited, exuberance of a happy, busy child is a joy to witness. Can we maintain a spark of this youthful excitement, whilst channelling it into adult life and work? Can we override any negative messages we may have received about our interests in childhood?“As a child, what captivated me was reading the poems myself and realizing that there was a world without material substance which was nevertheless as alive as any other.”
Mary Oliver
“You should do what you enjoy doing, what brings you passion. As kids, we spontaneously sing and dance and tell stories, and along the way, someone comes and says, ‘No. You shouldn’t be doing that.’ And we slowly begin to unlearn our passions. I think you have to hold on to those things.”
J. Michael Straczynski
With dedication and determination, childhood excitement for an activity can be transformed into something equally beautiful in adulthood…and lifelong. Following one’s passions, allowing ourselves to light up with enthusiasm and creativity, can mean that we will hold onto this capacity to be fascinated and amazed by what makes us feel fulfilled and contented.
- Developing our gifts…darkness and light
Dark Mood in the Woods – John Joseph Enneking. 1841-1916. Wikimedia Commons.
“Everyone has talent. What is rare is the courage to follow the talent to the dark place where it leads.”
Erica Jong
Sadly, many gifted people have fallen by the wayside because of poor mental health; they may lack the strength to survive the many pressures of continued training, of becoming successful, or of facing the hard work necessary to continue using their own gifts. In order, therefore, to fully pursue our dreams or realise our talents, we will need more than talent… we will need resilience, motivation, courage, staying power, good-enough mental health and psychological strength. Talent alone is not enough, we have to be able to face the darkness with understanding and insight.“Talent is nothing without dedication and discipline, and dedication and discipline is a talent in itself.”
Luke Campbell
The gifted poet Mary Oliver discovered that, in time, out of the box of darkness came some goodness, some light. This can be in the form of insight, learning, life experience. Such awareness of the good that may come from bad experiences is part of a long process. This is a process of resolution, of working through our painful darknesses in life and moving into something lighter and brighter. The lighter and brighter side of following our dreams is that-at last- they are being realised. This will, inevitably, give us joyful satisfaction, as our unique gifts are beginning to produce real results. We will have been able to identify what it is that imbues us with passion and thus feel more fulfilled. However, we still need to continue our journey of self-awareness, which will continue throughout our lives.“Someone I loved once gave me a box full of darkness. It took me years to understand that this too, was a gift.”
Mary Oliver
Walking Towards The Light, Cochin. Lucy Willis. Wikioo.
“You need to spend time crawling alone through shadows to truly appreciate what it is to stand in the sun.”
Shaun Hick
💫”What makes night within us may leave stars.” 🌟
Victor Hugo
- Encouragement, inspiration and opportunity.
Petrona Viera Garino. 1895–1960. Friendship. Wikimedia Commons
Mirrored in another’s eyes, our hidden abilities may be released though some words of encouragement. Of course, we need to ask for honest feedback, too, and to use any mistakes we might make to give us new insight, skills and learning.“One of the most beautiful gifts in the world is the gift of encouragement. When someone encourages you, that person helps you over a threshold you might otherwise never have crossed on your own.”
John O’Donohue
Vase of Flowers With Jewellery, Coins, and Shells by Jan Brueghel. 1606. Wikimedia Commons
‘Blooming like flowers,’ as seen above, in terms of humans implies that we will be able to cherish all our beautiful, previously hidden talents so that they will burst forth in the light, revealing our gifts to the world.“The most precious gift we can offer anyone is our attention. When mindfulness embraces those we love, they will bloom like flowers.”
Thich Nhat Hanh
Hiroshige Cherry Blossoms. 2005. Woodblock print (nishiki-e); ink and colour on paper. Wikimedia Commons
The wise Japanese concept of Oubaitori is highly relevant here; this is a wonderful phrase that refers to four trees that blossom in spring: plum, peach, apricot and cherry blossom. These trees all bloom in their own time, symbolising human growth and development. This is an individual process, no two are the same, yet they exist peacefully together, without envy or competition. Whether we are early or late bloomers, we all have unique value. It is also important that we encourage ourselves with growthful messages that are generous and caring, enhancing our own well-being.Sometimes we might need a friend to help us get in touch with our good points. At others, it might be that we need a therapist to enable an understanding of the roots of any lack of self-belief so that we may move forward with more self-confidence, trusting our own intuition, evaluation and judgement. So many of us ‘hide our light under a bushel’ and are unable to use our innate abilities. Encouragement can free up another’s imagination and open up new psychic paths. These paths may be blocked off, not through lack of ability, but through a want of self-esteem.“A man cannot be comfortable without his own approval.”
Mark Twain
“In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer.”
Albert Camus
We will also need the ability to recognise and grasp opportunities when we spot them.
“Any human anywhere will blossom in a hundred unexpected talents and capacities simply by being given the opportunity to do so.”
Doris Lessing
Being appreciated and inspired by others, and given the right conditions and learning opportunities, can mean that our gifts are brought out ; we may discover that we are more talented than we had ever thought.
It is also important to seek out people to learn from who are talented in similar ways, so that we can focus on and develop our strong points. If we continue to practice our skills, taking time to work on them with patience and dedication, then we can hone our talents and learn from the best in our field.
Being with another who is brimming with passion and vitality in a a similar area to us, is an infectious and inspiring experience. It is helpful to be with people who have great gifts and passionate interest. Such creative energy is catching and it tends to boost our mood.“At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us.”
Albert Schweitzer
It is this that makes us feel uplifted, stimulated, confident, creative, motivated. This is an exciting, animated feeling, one that can propel us eagerly onwards and upwards.“I need, sometimes, individuals to spark an idea so that I can take off running.”
Meek Mill
Raja Ravi Varma. Kadambari (1890). Wikimedia Commons
© Linda Berman“When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, ‘I used everything you gave me’.”
Erma Bombeck
waysofthinking.co.uk 
exquisite! 56Your Special Gifts—Are You Making The Most Of Them? By Dr Linda Berman
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