Finding
and Giving
“Each
of us, as we journey thought life, has the opportunity to find and to give his
or her unique gift. Whether this gift is quiet or small in the eyes of the
world does not matter at all—not at all; it is through the finding and the
giving that we may come to know the joy that lies at the center of both the
dark times and the light.”
Helen
M. Luke
My
friend, Garvice sent me a quote by Gilbert K. Chesterton: “Because they take
themselves lightly, angels can fly.” I think it was a gentle nudge from an
equally gentle man that perhaps I might want to lighten up a bit. Lord knows, I’m
no angel. Sometimes I get as dark and heavy as an andiron, and for that I
apologize. When it comes to writing this blog, I just follow my instincts, and sometimes
they lead me down a rabbit hole. Today, I’m going to give “light” a try.
I just
discovered Helen M. Luke and ordered a couple of her books. She was a British Jungian
Analyst who died last October at the age of 86, after having been married to
the same man for 70 years—a feat of some note in and of itself. I like her
point that our gift does not have to be Elon Musk-sized. It can be quiet and
small and seemingly insignificant to the world at large. If it is what we were
meant to do, and/or to be, that’s all that matters.
The
important message here is to find your unique gift, and then, since it is a
gift—to give it away. It doesn't have to be “unique” in the sense that no one
else on planet earth has it, only that your expression of it is one of a kind. The
first thing that comes to mind for me is someone who has a beautiful singing
voice. Many people have them, and they are truly a gift meant to be shared. I
have a friend named Dejuana, who makes up song-prayers and blessings
extemporaneously. They just come to her, and she has learned to trust her gift
enough to share it, even with total strangers. They may think she’s a bit
strange, but that’s okay—the gift is hers and it’s meant to be shared, period.
The major
challenge in finding and giving away your gift is trusting that it is, in fact,
your gift. If that’s a beautiful voice, or an ability to entertain people, or a
penchant for humor, it resides within the parameters of social acceptability.
But what if it’s not? Someone who comes to mind is a man named Lonnie Holly,
who lives here in Alabama. He became known as “the Sand Man,” because he made sculptures
from the casting molds used in the steel industry. They are basically fired
sand, and when they were used up the steel-workers just dumped them on the factory grounds. For years, Holly collected them, and went around to
different schools and civic events teaching others how to make sculptures from
them. They were humble materials, and he was humble, too. Now some of his
sculptures are in museums around the world.
Finding
your gift and giving it away may involve a lot of work. It may be rejected by
the world, but if it’s what you have to give, that’s what matters. Give it in
faith. Give it in trust. Think of Vincent Van Gogh—how fortunate are we that
his gift—which was not well received in his time—continues to bless our lives. There
is tremendous joy in finding and using your deep gift, even when it is not
received. There’s even more joy when someone receives your gift with the same
enthusiasm with which you gave it. In fact, feeling joyful is the way to know
it’s your gift. It may break your heart, but it will give you joy at the same
time.
In
the Spirit,
Jane
No comments:
Post a Comment