Talent - the courage to be yourself

"I have no special talent - I am only passionately curious." - Albert Einstein

Talent is a manifestation of the spirit. Talent is only a particularization of the potential within our souls that waits to be discovered. Talent is too often confounded with ability, genius, intelligence, but it is something different from them all: it is the supreme impulse to raise up to a superior state of yourself.

Talent frecquently comes up like an innovative idea, and it directs us to introspection. Talent means to realise our real chances in life. The day we realise that we really can do something and that we will be able to pay enough time and dedication on the path to achieving our ideal is the day when we start to see the genuine reality, the one that is inaccessible through our senses, the one that can only be noticed with our souls. 

"Talent is cheap; dedication is expensive. It will cost you your life." (Irving Stone - The Agony and the Ecstasy)

Talent without motivation and self-determination remains only a thought from the usual day-dreaming, as everybody may have. But when we realise the chance is real, that countless oportunities lay ahead of us, from which we can choose to cultivate some, through our lifelong work, then we discover our talents, our inclinations, and we decide our future. Talent is only the vision. To make the idea become reality, there is only a tremendous work ahead of you, that should be sustained by constant motivation and complete dedication throughout your life. We are all wonderfully gifted, and all talents lay forgotten in a corner of our soul, which we do not choose to manifest. In terms of practical action, it comes easier to pretend you lack talent than to work for achieving something. In fact, we lack the will, not the talent. Once we have the will, there is nothing strong enough to stay in our way. 

Obviously, in a limited number of years of existence and with limited material resources, we cannot manifest our inner potential fully, and this is why we have to prioritize our interests. It is best to choose the path that is most convenient to you, and work constantly with joy and dedication in order to be the best you can possibly be. This will be your vocation. You will always find people which are better than you: it is a blessing that the world has them, that you can take them as models. They are the living proof that the chance to perfect yourself is real. When anyone of us gets better, all the world becomes better. 

"Be yourself; everyone else is already taken."- Oscar Wilde

Striking to become better than others is completely irrelevant - you should aim at achieving the best of you, with what God gave you, with whatever life has in store for you. Be the conqueror of your own true self and make your life as you dream it to be. Nobody else stops you from achieving your potential, but yourself, unconsciously gathering negative thoughts and useless illusions in your mind. The mind is the altar on which you can miraculously turn your infinite spiritual resources into real life - keep it clean of any misery. You are what you think, and the reality takes the direction of your thoughts.

Criticism is sometimes better than appreciation - because it will show you what mistakes you still have to work on, and it won't let you fall in the trap of vanity. You will encounter hard times, but make sure you won't let the shady illusions of an occasional stage of life hide the light of reality. The only reality is your potential and your real chances, and you have as many chances as you are ready to take advantage of.  

Ralph Waldo Emerson wisely noticed that "every artist was first an amateur." The photo above shows my evolution from the moment when I decided to become an architect (7 years ago) to the present days. At first everyone lacks skill, because the certain abilities develop and perfect in time. Talent is only the sparkle that heads someone to a specific direction. The more you know yourself, the more determinated you become, and your talents bear fruit. Fear of oneself is the greatest loss in the world - it makes us blind, hiding the magnificent reality: that we are all able to do anything we would wish, as long as we do our best for turning ideas into reality. Talent is the courage to be yourself. It cannot be imposed or generated in time, because it comes as an instant revelation. Talent is a wish that flies out of the field of ideals and makes its appearance on the sky of our lives.

"Talent is a gift from God and whoever discovers it in himself has a certain obligation: to know that he cannot waste his talent, but must develop it." - Pope John Paul II

"Whatever you do will be insignificant, but it is very important that you do it." - Mahatma Gandhi

Our actions are the ones that define us. The limits are set by ourselves, and the exterior contexts are the result of our inner states. Nobody else is to be blamed or congratulated for the results of our life; we take full responsibility for what we are. People may have more or less resources, the destiny may be easier or difficult - still, what matters is our own reaction to everything that we are given, may it be good or bad. The present moment is the only certainty, and, with the greatest respect for ourselves and all our inner resources, we are meant to give the best - for us and for everything and everyone that surrounds us. 

The supreme talent is that of living beautifully. As Oscar Wilde says, "to live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all." Make your life a beautiful artwork, respect yourself, love what surrounds you, work passionately, see the light in every single moment and don't look for shadows. Nobody stops you from being yourself. Be the best you can be and you will achieve everything.