Your Talents

Know your innate, natural talents and use them every day.

Lisa Jimenez
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Hello Sue
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Look up. That bright light that smacks your cheek and makes it glow is your own private ray of sunshine, your special gift from the solar system. It invites you to reflect it back to the earth as only you can.

The tiny flower that grows in a small patch of earth gladly accepts its ray of sunshine and blossoms with color. It is not jealous of the rays its neighbor flower gets or the earth its neighbor is growing in or even the special drops of rain that nourish it.

One day I modeled for a painting class. During the break I walked around and looked at what the students were doing. Those paintings couldn't have been more different from each other. One was a close up of me, almost a portrait, while another had me very small as a single object in the landscape of the room.

Two of my own paintings are hanging in an exhibit right now. Walking around and observing all the works that are there, from very good to excellent, I marveled at how artists can take the same basic materials and with them come forth with such completely different expressions.

Listen to three singers sing the same song. The notes may be the same, the melody the same, but how different the interpretation and expression. Your innate, natural talent may not be about paint or tones, It may not have any connection with art at all. In fact it may be more difficult to describe than art or music. But it is surely there, just as surely as the sun will shine on you.

,I once counseled a high school senior who wasn't sure what he wanted to do with his life. I told him to do everything that came his way and when he found the thing that he enjoyed, that he looked forward to doing every day, to do that and it would lead him into the life he wants.

There is only one way I know of to discover one's talent and that is by living, by rolling up the sleeves and getting involved in anything one thinks one might like. An active mind always has answers.

DB - Vagabond Journeys
Never give up.