Cornucopia / Cynthia Dewes
Contemplating the navel in a unique, productive way
God made each of us unique. Although we’re alike in many ways, we’re also very different. We have different talents, strengths, weaknesses, likes, dislikes, and so on. After all, we’re made in the image of God and there’s no end to who God is.
Sometimes we know early on what our talents are. I know a man who, from boyhood, knew he was a natural born engineer. For example, once, when his mom bought a new washing machine, he took the old one apart and then put it back together again, just because he could.
Another fellow was a natural leader. He could be seen as a boy hanging from a tree in a vacant lot next door, wearing his Civil War cap and wielding a wooden sword against an imaginary enemy. Later, he had a distinguished career as a captain in the U.S. Navy.
Sometimes, it takes a longer time for folks to find their talents. One fellow was a prospective seminarian and philosophy student until he finally realized that he was meant to be a family man whose work should be hands-on. He can do just about anything—plumb, wire, paint, build, renovate, and do it well and quickly.
Another person studied art history and was headed for museum work until she began to help out at a preschool and kindergarten. There, she found her true niche as a master teacher and nurturer of young children. Today, she still teaches little ones, but she also teaches the new teachers.
Then, we have those who misread their talents, like Florence Foster Jenkins in a recent movie by the same name. She was a wealthy socialite who believed that she was a great opera singer when, in fact, she was pretty tone-deaf.
As time went on, she gave more and more recitals, receiving much attention from the press and public. Actually, people were laughing at her in the cruel tongue-in-cheek rave reviews she received. When she finally realized the truth, she was devastated. So much for assessing one’s own talent.
Lots of people are not analytical about themselves. They just go with the flow, taking each day as it comes, and assuming that life will go on the best way it can.
But I think we need to take stock of ourselves now and then, analyzing our gifts, our problems, our options. Maybe we’re not the lucky ones who’ve always known what their talents are. But like the later bloomers, we can find out what they are and put them to use. And we can be more realistic than poor Florence Foster Jenkins.
We don’t need to be self-centered or absorbed in ourselves in an unhealthy way in order to do this. As we grow up and age, it’s natural to consider where we’ve been and where we’re going, what works and what doesn’t in maintaining a satisfying and useful life.
God gives us the talents and skills to lead such a life, and God also gives us the free will to use them one way or another. Life is a balancing act. But life is also meant to be joyous, and when we use our talents to make life better for ourselves and others, we will experience such joy.
God gives us inspiration for joy and the talent to recognize it and to claim it when we see it. Just one of God’s many gifts.
(Cynthia Dewes, a member of St. Paul the Apostle Parish in Greencastle, is a regular columnist for The Criterion.) †