Don't Know What to Do? What do you Have in your Hands?

We've all got talents, interests and skills. Hopefully our skills and interests overlap, at least most of the time. If we want desperately to achieve something, we work at it, because as Einstein said, "Genius is 10% inspiration and 90% perspiration".

Because of the passion, boldness and courage inherent in youth, young people - I don't mean children  but rather teens/twenty-somethings - have a definite advantage over older people to satisfy their potential. Somehow, older folk become complacent or fearful or loose the idealism of Youth. I like to connect with young people (and in this blog I imagine that I am) because I value their perspective and hope to sprinkle that with a bit of wise encouragement. You see, I believe that whatever gift(s) we're born with are intended to be used to shape our lives - and the lives of the people around us - for the better. So, "point one": Don't doubt the power of your influence! Whether it's now or in a decade from now, what you do will make an impact.

I believe we're each put here for a particular purpose. The talents we're born with and the circumstances we're faced with, gear us toward that purpose. By using the abilities we've got, moving passionately within our circumstances, we'll discover the purpose for which we are here!

I took for granted some of the things I was good at, despised them really, and preferred the 'challenge' of doing something, well, more challenging. But that was stupid of me.That took me on some detours, that weren't exactly a waste of time, but they didn't draw me nearer to fulfillment either. You see, my journey shows me that fulfillment is the satisfaction of being in the right circumstance that allows you to use your abilities and all the lessons you've learned so far, to make a difference to the world around you.

It took me a l-o-n-g time but eventually, after teaching, acting, singing, administration, eventually I woke up to the purpose for which I was put here on this earth, namely, to offer my perspective/insight/revelations to others. It wasn't obvious to me for a long time, but now I write and I love it!

I believe if we use our abilities, and if we explore what fascinates us, we'll eventually find our purpose: the reason we were put here. So, whatever you have in your hands - whatever gift, education, natural inclination or fascination - I believe that's where you're meant to begin.

I had a pen, a serious appreciation for diaries and other little books with nice, even stunningly beautiful covers and lots of lined-but-otherwise-empty pages. I've had a propensity to think too much, say too much and write every nuance of every thought I ever had on a given day. And by age 15, I had a track record of long letter writing.

I took detours from age 18 to 40, thinking I wouldn't succeed at writing. But eventually I just got down to it seriously. I may never make a penny, but I have to do it. I guess that's the secret of choosing a vocation - it's just something you've 'got to do'. For me, it's writing. What is it for you? Whatever it is, no one can take it away from you. Find it and you'll find fulfillment. Ignore it and I think you won't.

Whatever is your passion, whatever drives you forward: that's probably the 'hint' telling you what you're made to be. You can respect it. Cherish it and nurture it, even if it won't pay the bills. Even if it won't satisfy someone else. Because at the end of the day, you have the possibility to be precisely who you were born to be. And that's an awesome prospect.

What have you got in your hands?

What you can count on

The sun rises and sets, it always does, it always will. This is something you can count on.

When I was 20 I had a car accident. I was wounded - my back was injured but more than that my psyche did a nosedive. Actually, my psyche was a mess long before the car accident but just how messed up my head was became apparent in the unrestrained emotional discharge that came out of me after I regained consciousness.
I don't remember the accident, I don't remember unleashing. (I was told it was extreme.) But I've no doubt I did vent - that was a part of my character then.
Decades later I look back on the time that is now mostly a blur - and on others since - and say it's amazing I'm alive now. What can seem so significant one day can become a part of a blur that has passed - and is past.

The reason I'm writing this now is because I know people who are struggling. They are twenty-something. Some I know by name, others I don't. The people I'm writing to are disillusioned. And suffering because of it.
Suffering itself isn't what's bad. Suffering builds strength and character when we see it through. Pain does subside and stops. What I'm beefed about it the disillusionment. Where does that come from? Where did the illusion come from in the first place - that romance and dreams will all come to pass. They don't sometimes. And that doesn't mean we shouldn't have dreamed, it just means we should be taught that it's good to dream, better to try than not to try, but that the result may seem like a failure. But why isn't someone saying 'success isn't about the dream coming true but about having the courage to try'?
To those who are disillusioned, I want to urge you: don't give up hoping that you'll have your heart's desire. Rather, hope you will, and see where life takes you to develop the heart and the desire. Desire and hope aren't in our heads, they live in our hearts. And knowing our hearts is a journey of a lifetime, not a decade or two.
And in the meantime I say grip life as an adventure! We don't know how it'll turn out (that's what makes it an adventure), but if we care about others and look up at the sky, we'll get our minds off the disappointment and see the sun peeking out.

If we look out and we look up, we'll see much more of ourselves than if we look only inside.
And if we don't look at all, we'll miss the beauty that life has to offer.
Life is beautiful. The bits that seem ugly right now make the beauty that much brighter.