On Being Gifted
If one is of high intelligence, that person is thought of as being “gifted.” There are all kinds of gifts in life, and the best ones, I have found, are usually offered free of charge. If someone loves you, truly loves you, then you have received a gift that is immeasurable. If someone spends time with you, even a casual encounter on the telephone, or a brief e-mail to say, “Hey, I’m thinking of you today and I hope you are fine!” – that is a gift. The smell of Lavender plants growing in your herb garden, the smile of the mailman as he hands you a pile of mail that he has laboriously carried some distance – that is a gift. People who are cheerful and interested in what you are doing, and in your plans for the future – these individuals are gifts.
The sight of new life in the spring whether it be a rose surviving the winter, when you thought it would not, or the smell of the Lilacs – these are gifts. A carefully-prepared meal made by a loving, doting husband is a gift. The officials at the Police and Fire departments who keep us safe in our homes and in our communities, they are gifts. I can easily think of so many people who serve others and who are true blessings to others. It matters not whether or not you are “gifted”; it matters what you give. I have found the most generous folks not to be the ones who count their pennies and worry about their stocks and investments. The most generous souls are those who do not have much to give but give all they can, in the name of friendship and loving concern.
Today, I want you to think about your gifts. Are you as generous in spirit as you could be, or are you the type to always wonder what is “in it” for you? Do you use other people, or are you free with your kind thoughts and earthly service to others? We pass this way only once. I am as guilty as the next person in not wanting to give someone else the right time of day, when I am in a mood, or preoccupied, or ticked off at someone else because I assess them as being stupid. Yes, I’ve been guilty of that, a lot of times, I am afraid. It is not that the other party is not stupid; it is that I need to pray for more tolerance of others, knowing that in our common lot in life, we all have suffering of some kind or another. The pain we experience could be generated by knowing that we have an unloving family, or that our friends have turned on us. Or, alternatively, we may have physical pain that is chronic and unrelenting, or have recurrent symptoms of illness.
The bottom line is that we never know how much someone else is suffering. The person may have financial woes or be out of work. Being “gifted,” whether you are a medical doctor, a Ph.D., or another professional, does not give you the license to act superior and to exhibit a lack of empathy for those around you. Having a cavalier, holier-than-thou attitude is no gift at all, but a handicap, and potentially interferes with your ability to advocate for others.
We all are given gifts in life. Some gifts are taken away – like our parents who often die before we do, and before we think they should. Death is tragic. It is the end. Future choices are taken away. The final paragraph of our lives is written.
Although we get busy, we should never be too busy to lend an ear, or to accept the gift of friendship, or to miss an opportunity to help. Someone once said that it is a good idea for adults to imagine each other as children. If we did that, we could see each other in a different light, perhaps observe the innocence and the vulnerabilities that were there before life turned us into snarling creatures, and set in the attack mode as in strike before struck.
If you are a “gifted” artist, or quilter, or musician, use those gifts for the benefit of others. If you know how to do something, teach others. Being gifted carries with it a responsibility to share. I do. How about you?
Patricia Cummings
Quilter’s Muse Publications
