Monday, June 25, 2007
Special Gifts
When we read of the great saints and gurus, many appear to have what others call "special gifts." Yet I hear of people with unexpected talents often. I met a woman recently who "hears poetry in her head." She has had this gift since childhood, and for many years assumed that everyone else did the same. (She reminds me of the character in Doris Lessing's great novel "The Four-Gated City" who could "hear what others were saying in their heads". She also had assumed that this was a universal talent, until she discovered otherwise, and was promptly sent to see a psychiatrist and subsequently hospitalized. Lessing's view was that such people were simply ahead of their time.)
I also heard, just the other day, of a woman who can tell just by looking at someone what their astrological sign is. In fact, she can tell what the signs are for an entire room full of people. She, also, doesn't consider this talent to be unusual or of special significance.
And then there is the young woman I met once who has x-ray vision. Instead of seeing just the outside features (or clothing) of a person, she sees them as if she were looking into their bodies, as though they were skeletons carrying organs. She said it could be quite disturbing at times. (But recently this peculiar talent has subsided and she has more "normal" vision.")
Often extreme talent manifests in ways we call genius--consider the young Mozart who was composing amazing music when he was extremely young, and who stated that (as an adult) whole symphonies came into his head all at once.
If you happened to see the movie "Billy Eliot" you will remember that this was an extremely moving story about a young boy who longed to be a ballet dancer, but who lived in poverty in a small English village, where he had little chance of developing his gift. He ultimately makes it into the Royal Ballet, and in the final scene, he is getting ready to enter on stage as the lead role in Swan Lake.
A similar story unfolds in the little presentation on the Internet as listed below. I warn you, it may bring tears to your eyes, but it will also reaffirm your faith that all of us have gifts of a special kind, and that it is our responsibility (and fulfillment) to let them be uncovered for others to look on and share.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1k08yxu57NA
(Actually, there is a second presentation which follows this initial one--be sure to watch it as well.)
