Talents

At the beginning of the year, everybody is making plans on what they are going to do with their year. At school and in churches, kids are told the stories about their talents and how they must fulfill their talents in the coming year. Two stories from the Bible are usually used, the one of the servant girls and the one of the slaves. The story about the slave girls surrounds the lamps that shed lights and what they do with it. Do they use it, or do they hide it. This means that we, including our talents, are the light to the world, and that we should not be hiding ourselves, but living our light for all to see.

The second story is about 3 slaves and their master. Although it is used as an analogy of the Kingdom of God, it is also relevant to our talents. The first slave is entrusted with 5 talents, the second 2 and the third only 1. After some time, the master returns to see what they have done with their talents. The first and second slave worked hard and doubled their money. The third, out of fear about loosing the money, buried the money and gave it back to the master. The story ends with the master giving the first two slaves even more, but taking away all that the third had.

As we tell these stories to our children, I was wondering by myself about what I am doing with my talents. You see, we have all sorts of talents, sport, socializing, the arts etc. If you look at how full our children’s days are in cultivating their talents, I was wondering what happened to my talents. I am not talking about dreams, by my talent in music and sport. It would seem that, when you grow up, you become so busy with your work and family, that there is no place for this anymore. We just do not have the time to go and live fully.

Looking around in the world, I was wondering if this was not perhaps the reason why people are so unhappy all the time. I am not taking away the fact that it does take talent to raise kids, and that your days are not filled with responsibilities. But in our examples of the slaves, it was the same thing. There were a lot of things that needed attention as part of their responsibilities to the master, but they did not forget about their talents and to attend to them as well.

Maybe it is because of that reason that we are not looking forward to the day ahead, and that which makes us unhappy about tomorrow. Are we not so caught up in the stress of everyday life and that we understand that the escape of medication etc. is not working? When last did you go and sit in front of your piano and enjoyed yourself playing for 5 minutes? When last did you take a clean canvas and painted?

The thing about talents is that it is part of you, and by applying these talents, you open up a part of yourself. Every person’s talent looks different, and some have more than others. But, it is part of who you are. But even more important in the lesson, is that if you do not apply these talents, the flame will be extinguished and it will be taken away from you. The reason being that if you don’t use it, what is the use of having it. I also understand that the older you get, you start to explore new things in yourself that become new “talents”. It has nothing to do with compiling a list of things you can do, I would pull a hamstring just thinking about running a 100m dash again. But maybe it is an example of the fact that I did not keep running, that I can’t anymore.

As the master of the slaves came back to ask reckoning of what was done, it is not necessarily God that comes to judge what we do, but sometimes the judgement lies in our everyday life. People are unhappy and sad and depressed with their lives. People feel that they have nothing more to live for. Then you see people of 70 years old pasting their paintings on facebook for all to see. My Uncle of 75 coming to South Africa for a month to give piano concerts. And if I look at these types of people living out their talents, I think that they are the happiest.

It is not only in the arts, but also in sport where I experience that my friends that run marathons or cycle, seem to be people finding life easier. They look and act a lot less unhappy and depressed. They look and feel healthy which in most cases spill over to their relationships, parenting and work. They are ecstatic from the joy they find in living out their talents.

We find it easy to preach to our children that it has nothing to do with how good you are in doing things, but that you are doing it. Finding joy is not that people will buy your paintings for millions, and not in winning the Comrades Marathon. Real joy lies in doing and enjoying what I do, and that I must start doing this before I preach to my kids about what they should do. Maybe this is why our children, when they grow up, don’t listen to us anymore, because of the fact that we do not practice what we preach! They just don’t believe us anymore, because if it worked so well, why don’t we do it all the time?

As example of this, I see my friends that are involved in sport, their children follow their passion automatically. I can remember that my love of tennis and golf came from my parents participating every weekend. I naturally had a choice to sit next to the field, but I decided to partake. These were the most wonderful time of my life, to do something with them together and spend a day doing something that we all loved. Their example motivated me to take part, because this was our life together, doing sport.

Maybe a lot of the unhappiness around us is because we don’t practice our talents. Years ago I took music lessons, but failing to play for the last couple of years, lead to the fact that I am struggling to even tune my guitar. Everything takes longer and is a bigger effort. Yesterday I was driving in Pretoria in Atterbury Road, and I saw an advertisement for music lessons for people that are a little bit older. And I thought about taking lessons again, to become a little bit more creative and to learn something new again, and to live my talents.

Maybe you have forgotten who and what you are. Did you maybe buried those talents that define you in the closet? Remember that it is never too late to start them again. It doesn’t matter if you become an international player, but that you are busy defining yourself and creating the person and world that you are happy with. We know the lesson that it is not about the prize, but the passion. Passion is what brings happiness, and the more passion, the more happiness and the more success. So many people go to the gym every day to build their bodies, loose fat and centimeters, but how many of them really enjoy being active? When you do anything with real passion, everything else, even the beach body will sort itself out.

Maybe you must go into that dusty closet and go and look for that racket, golf clubs, paper, canvas and paint. Go and dust them off. Maybe you must go and restring that guitar, or organize with the school or church to go and use the piano. Go find your passion for your talents, and maybe you will reconnect with who and what you really are. Maybe that passion will spill over to the rest of you life. Don’t wait, go do it NOW, and do it every day with passion. The judgement is not from the master or one day, you will feel it in your life NOW.

Enjoy your day!