Ordinary
Prodigy
“In
one African myth…the Godhead is defined as that thing which appears in man as
the mystery of an unusual skill or capacity. It is something divine, a spark of
divinity in him, not his own possession or achievement, but a miracle.”
Marie
Louise von Franz
When we
meet prodigies, we are invariably impressed. Children who play an instrument by ear and can
pull off a Brahms concerto by age 8, are seen as savant or simply brilliant.
Sometimes the skill they have is not so useful—like the boy I knew who could square
any number in his head but couldn’t tie his shoes. Sometimes, as was the case
with Mozart, the skills are more practical. He took up the harpsicord at 3
years of age and published his first piece of music at 5. Another prodigy was a
17th century Mexican woman named Sor Juana Inez de la Cruz. She was
not formally educated but began to read as a toddler and by 8 wrote publishable
religious poetry. She taught herself Latin, Greek logic, and the Aztec language
knows as Nahuatl. Pablo Picasso could paint before he could talk, produced his
first oil painting at 9, was admitted to a prestigious art school in Barcelona by
14, and had his first public exhibition at 15.
Clearly,
a prodigy is a rare and sacred animal. Their ability seems to be a gift from
God, and it is. They don’t have to learn the hard way, and in fact, formal
education often holds them back. Sometimes, they are thought of as “peculiar” in the
same way that someone like Joan of Arc was—their special skill becomes an
obsession that takes all their attention and energy. They rarely conform to
social norms.
Obviously,
most of us are not prodigies. We are regular human beings who may or may not
have an area of expertise and unique ability. Regardless of that, we can still
contribute to humanity. It may not be a symphony; it may be to raise the consciousness
of our children, to teach equality and justice, to show by example what is
right and what is wrong. We can make an outsized difference in the world by
teaching others whatever skills we may have. We may not have photographic
memories, but we can still make the most of our innate intelligence by reading and
thinking about what we read. That sounds simple, but it’s surprising how few
people think about important things. Deep conversations are incredibly life
changing, especially when we have them with young people. Older people have
many years of life experience from which they have learned important lessons
and young people have a fresh take on life that can be beneficial to us older
folks. Even if you are not a prodigy, you have much to share with the world.
The life-task of our later
years is to pass along our God-gifts to others. In doing so, we make an everlasting
contribution to the human DNA pool that’s passed along to our children and
grandchildren and to their children and grandchildren. The important thing is
to be certain what you pass along is worthy and helpful whether it’s brilliant
or not.
In the Spirit,
Jane
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