Uncover your gifts and share them around – that’s all you have to do.

Well hello again travellers and welcome to the ABTY blog,

If you are anything like me, then you may sometimes find yourself pondering the age old questions of ” why am I here?”, ” what’s the point?”, ” what am I meant to be doing with my life ?”.

I have given these timeless questions much thought over the years and have settled upon the idea, that all you are meant to do is uncover what it is that you absolutely love – and then share it.

That’s it.

No more and no less.

I have come to the conclusion that we, as human beings tend to overcomplicate our lives, when the reality of it all is so very simple.

1. Discover who you are and what you love

2. Share it with the people around you

So how is it that we can get so confused and waylaid along the way?

Firstly, I think that some times the pursuit of acclaim and money can stop us in our tracks, as we search for ways to “make a buck” from what we love and who we are. And certainly, you will get no argument from me that we all need to make a living somehow to get by. But – should that be at the expense of what we also truly love.

I truly believe that the answer is no.

You must honour what you love and then share it with others around you, so that they may appreciate it too, otherwise you are not honouring some deep part of you that lives within your soul. The part of you that is yearning to be seen and heard and to shine.

Does this mean that this talent has to then earn you money and be what you ” make a living from”?

Of course not. But to leave any gift or passion you have, lay dormant and unattended –  without feeding it, nurturing it and sharing it with others, is surely the quickest way to bring a sense of dissatisfaction and misery into your life.

Perhaps you are a great musician – then get down to the local pub or cafe and start a jam session. Or go to a local rehearsal studio and find others wanting to have a jam one night a week.

Perhaps you are a great cook – then invite people around for dinner and share this passion and joy with them. If you do not have heaps of cash, then ask everyone to put in $10 for the grocery list and offer to do the cooking once a month, to bring a group of friends together.

Perhaps you have a real talent for art, but put the paint brush away when your responsibilities as a parent took over and you were busy running your business. Well start painting again, enrol in a class or get a stall at a market and see if anyone would like to buy your work.

Perhaps you have a gift for styling spaces and decorating rooms – then offer to help some friends out with their interior design if they are looking to make changes. Or again, put a few items together and get a table at a local market.

Perhaps you used to play rugby and then became injured and can no longer play – well seek out the local club and see if they need a coach or assistant coach for Little League and the junior club players.

As I have written before – sometimes the real JOY is to be found in the doing – the being – the experiencing. And not in the pay off. The pay off would appear to be the actual act of doing and being and experiencing. The joy from revelling in and sharing your particular passions and talents.

Because let’s face it. We all have different skills and that is what makes the world go around.

I have so many talented friends it is unbelievable.

Those you can sing, those who can dance, those you can make me laugh, those who can cook, those who are incredibly creative, those who can communicate with animals, those who throw amazing dinner parties, those who coach junior rugby, those who are incredible artists, those who can make amazing jewellery, those who are naturally stylish, those who have a flare for design, those who play instruments, those who have a knack for telling a joke.

The list goes on and on and on –  and the amazing thing is that most of these people do not make a living from the skill listed above. They simply do these things as an addition to their work lives because they love it. And from the outside looking in, this seems to bring so much joy to their lives.

As is always the case though, I have also met many people who have shared with me a skill or talent that they have, that is laying dormant.

Wasting away.

Hidden.

A talent that is not being tended to at all, in any way.

It is potential and joy that is totally unrealised. And as a result, these people seem to carry with them a terrible burden and sadness within them. Knowing that they would really like to let their light shine – but for whatever reason they just can not.

Some are scared that what they have to offer will not be good enough.

Some are worried what their work colleagues, family or friends will think when they reveal this ” other side” of themselves.

Some have just never been encouraged to try  something new and it has never occurred to them to give it a go.

Some of them seem to put the cart before the horse, wondering how to monetise their particular skill, before even giving it a go. So the show never gets on the road so to speak.

If this is you.

If you have a talent, skill or passion laying dormant within you, then I encourage you, in 2016, to bring it out into the sunshine.

Water it.

Tend to it like a beautiful garden.

And watch it grow.

And into what – you just never, never know.

I have experienced this myself in so many ways in 2015.

Having not played my drum-kit for over 10 years, I have gotten up in a number of situations and jammed with a band. In public. Totally unrehearsed.

Was I great……..no – not really ha ha ha. But did the roof fall in? On the contrary. On every occasion the people watching were encouraging and supportive and I had a blast. So I have decided to get back into that in 2016. But had I not gotten up in the first place I would never have rediscovered this passion for drumming was still there.

I started teaching Dance Classes for people with Parkinsons. Did I think I could do it? No I did not. But one class grew into two and then three and then four  - and now it is one of my most treasured activities whenever I am in Sydney and the people I have met are some of the finest I know. They bring untold joy into my life each and every week.

So in short, what I am saying is this –  do something – anything to honour the talents you have been given.

Get out there in the community and share the gifts you have been given.

Offer to read stories for children at the local library once a week.

Bake cookies for the people in your community.

Start that new painting.

Take those dance classes.

Honour the passions and talents you have been given……because they are yours alone and yours to share.

And from my experience, it is in the sharing of these gifts that you bring joy, not only into the lives of the receivers – but into yours too.

Who knew?

#DiscoverYou #Love You #BeYou #Share You

And watch your world change.

Christine