Talented....

talent- n. - Natural aptitude or skill.

Funny how it seems that some people have all the talent, while others struggle trying to find that one little thing that they are good at. People like Elvio, or my dear friend Dave Viterna, who can dissect a song just by listening to it, they can play any instrument they pick up, and some that they have to sit down at! Then there are those who can argue a point effectively, and never seem to have a wrong analogy. The debate is what they live for, always with a better argument, and the perfect examples. Wease, is the man for that, he is the best outright debater I have ever heard. He claims to have a terrible memory, but fire him up and watch the wheels spin, he can pull minutia out of thin air and make the Pope believe that there is no God and Satan is just a naughty little kid.

Some people have a talent for writing, conjuring stories out of their own fertile minds, making new worlds that we the reader can fall into with such conviction that we will breathlessly await the next installment, and mourn the death of a character on a page almost as if they were our own family. Rowling, Tolkien, and King are great examples of this talent.

For every activity under the sun, there is somebody who is just naturally good at it. Sometimes we find our talent through no particular effort, and our lives are so much the better for it, while others of us, seem to search our entire lives and never seem to find something that comes easily to us. We struggle with a goal that we wish to attain, and we battle against the current, but when the day ends there will always be someone better than we are. I love music, and I am a passible singer, but when it comes to playing an instrument? Even a tamborine is too complicated for me! I took piano lessons for three years as an adult, because I have always been drawn to the piano, but I needed to devote way more time to it than I had to give. I still noodle at the keys now and then, and I can still play a few things, but I will never be a "pianist" by any stretch of the imagination.

Sometimes we find our talent and have no idea what to do with it, or how to use it to our advantage. I can't draw, and I will probably never be a syndicated columnist, or a published photographer. Sure I have videos up on "youtube," but then who doesn't? Nope, my talent is in languages. I can add a new language to my brain with almost no effort, but I need to have someone to practice with. I can only go so far by listening to movie soundtracks or CD's, but when I learn from Native speakers, you can bet that my accent is nearly flawless. If I could be dumped in any country in the world with a basic knowledge of their language, I could be near fluent in less than 3 months, and have the local accent to the point that the locals wouldn't know I haven't lived there most of my life. I have been a mimic as long as I can remember, and I actually remember getting smacked by my dad when I was a kid trying to imitate the way that my great-grandmother spoke English. You see her first language was Mohawk, and I absolutely loved her accent. I wanted to learn the language when I was a kid, but we didn't spend enough time on the rez, so I only learned the few words that my dad knew. But when I heard my Great grandparents use the language between themselves, It was like a magic world for me, and I wanted in!

I grew up floating along the radio dial, and living this close to Canada, there was always a good half dozen places along the dial where the language was French. French-Canadian, but still French enough for me! I listened intently trying to pick out things that I knew, and occasionally I would hear something that sounded familiar. Later I found out how much French, Spanish and Italian are similar because of the Latin base, and it dawned on me why so much sounded familiar, but not quite right, becase we used English versions of the same words, for the very same stuff! That's when my gift kicked in for me, because I immediately understood how to find the similarities in any language and to apply it to the next one.

Where will I ever use this talent? I have no idea, I would love to have the time and money to simply travel and learn, but unless I win a big lottery pot, that seems highly unlikely. Had I truly understood my talent 25 years ago, my life would probably be TOTALLY different right now, but I believe that we generally lead the life that we want, whether we admit it or not. Sure we complain about our lot, but even though most of us have the power to change it, we continue on in our little routines. Why upset the cart? Why take a risk?

Sometimes even a talent needs to be nurtured and drawn out. No matter how gifted the musician, they all need practice to get the flow of the music. No matter how good the painter or the photographer, they still need to understand the basics, and know the rules, then they can break them at will and expand the horizons in their fields. Everyone has a talent, but not everyone knows what theirs is, if you do know, you're ahead of the game, and if you've found a way to use it and enjoy it, so much the better.

If you haven't discovered your talent yet, keep looking, you may be surprised by what you can do.