As Black Friday kicks off a month-long activity of gift-giving and partying, I’m here to reflect on what it means to give and to know ones gift. In giving, the giver feels the joy of the gesture, and the receiver feels the happiness associated with kindness.
Both the giver and the receiver of the gifts experience a shared commitment, a mutual bliss.
Kahlil Gibran, a famous poet, says, “It is when you give of yourself that you truly give.” No question. The gifts you give to your loved ones, to your friends, and even to strangers reflect who you are and the essence of your being.
It’s good to buy new products from boutique stores and give them as gifts. But personally it’s essential to know our own innate gifts, the gifts given by our Heavenly creator on birth.
Uncover your gifts
Each of us is born with gifts and talents, uniquely woven into our being, separating and distinguishing us from everyone even from our twin siblings. Everyone carries a distinct DNA, making you and me truly special. No one can be like us!
What are your special gifts? What are your talents? Are you good in Math? In sports, arts, and music? Are you gifted in analyzing facts and figures? Do you have a special smile that can melt everyone’s hearts? Are you a people person, easy to get along with? Do you have leadership qualities and business acumen?
If you are passionate about one thing and you are exceptionally good at it, most likely that is your gift. All of us have gifts. Our role is to uncover them so everyone benefits.
Sharpen your gifts
After knowing your gifts, it is vital to hone them, sharpen them, and strengthen them through frequent use and practice. Read books and listen to CDs and DVDs about your talents and skills and how to improve them. Obtain advice. Learn from the experts and not from novices or students, or from relatives who have the tendency to put you down.
If budget allows, attend seminars offered in major cities. Currently, attending educational sessions are made easy by webinars or online seminars. Also consider hiring a coach, or joining organizations or clubs. Some of these organizations can quickly provide relevant materials, thus shortening your learning curve.
If you don’t sharpen and use your gifts, they will degenerate and eventually die.
Associate with people who have your gifts
Connect with individuals who share the same passion and gifts as you. Talk to those who can give advice and input on what you do, Spend more time with acquaintances whose knowledge and wisdom you can absorb. Befriend people who you can learn from and not those people who will distract you from your goals.
Having said this, I don’t advise that you should ignore or discount those who have different talents and gifts. Remember, you can learn from diversity and flourish through it. Whether you like it or not, their difference should remind you of your exceptional place in this earth.
If you want to enhance your gifts, avoid unnecessary distractions and spend time with people who can direct your path towards individual discovery.
Share your gifts
After you have recognized and improved your gifts, it is time to share them to others. This is the purpose of your existence. Talents and gifts are meant to be shared; they are not meant to be buried under the ground.
You need to invest your talents and gifts so they will multiply and help expand the goodness of our community. And help those people who are struggling, confused, lost, disheartened, and impoverished. Michael Jordan, Albert Einstein, and Helen Keller have shared their gifts to humanity, and they have changed the world.
I am who I am. You are who you are. It is this uniqueness that makes us great from the start. You can do something I can’t. I can do a few things that you won’t dare do.
Your gifts have specific purpose — to multiply your positive influence. Use them wisely.
