Maya Papaya………….
Maya Papaya……..she is my 11 year old word prodigy. Her usage of the English Language is her genius in this life. We all have a proclivity towards one or more talents at the start of our life story, you know, when we start out in the world. I try to think back on what was mine. I think it was compassion and maybe story telling. My head was always full of stories all the time fraught with drama and conflict. But as I grew older in spirit the need for compelling tales were replaced by the need to pay bills and be a grown-upper.(No wonder Peter Pan protested against Adulthood!) My sonny Sam's talent is the ability to give comfort to all in a small quiet way. My Mads is to forgive easily and to see and know the future. My Liv is the gift of conversation and complete intuition. (These are JUST a SAMPLING of their gifts.)
I think that sometimes parental guidance, school stringency, or just plain trying to fit in the box can kick the old flair right out of us. I dare to argue that not just sometimes but most of the time. We come in brand new and by the time we are between the ages of 5 and 10 our brilliance is dimmed to a mere flicker. I remember clearly when my deep abiding compassion was snuffed a bit. I was 11 or 12 watching the news. I had this gift (or curse depending) to actually feel and see myself in others shoes. So for example, if someone was on the news telling of the tornado that hit their home and how they hid in the bathroom, I could relive the whole experience in my head as if it happened to me! I was experiencing such an event while watching the news. A family member who I worshipped, without cruelty or trying to be callous, commented how overly sensitive I was. That very moment I buried that talent as far down as I could. I thought it was a bad thing.
So the Papaya girl…we had arrived home from a lovely family event complete with Grandparents, Aunts/Uncles, and cousins. Sam, LIv, Maya and myself indulged in a little late night television until our eyes could barely stay open while the Prince retired to the boudoir upon our arrival. Maya finally had the gumption, after a couple of hours, to suggest that we retire for the evening.
Backstory: Sometimes Prince Charming snores.
So Maya insist that “tonight mom, I am going to turn down my bed for you to sleep in. I am going to sleep with Daddy tonight because he snores and I snore so we have become accustomed to each other.” I think naming her after Maya Angelou and Ayn Rand (two great authors) have destined her Einstein gift to manifest itself.
So I speak on our talents once again because I believe there is a need for us, at any age, to reach back to the start of our lives and really see what our talents were and are. I get the hiding talents under the old bushel story better. It isn’t about practicing violin every day or perfecting your football “pass”. It is, in my mind’s eye, that we have true talents that cannot always be seen that we have hidden down deep in the bushel of our soul. We felt dumb professing we can give comfort to anyone or we didn’t believe that we really could see things in the future. Or maybe the ability to love anybody didn’t seem like a genius or to forgive quickly seemed like a bad thing. The talents we truly had at the start of our entity that we pushed under the bushel of our soul because it didn’t fit in the box we live in. So be like my genius vo-cab-a-ler (not a word I know) and let your talents shine like nobody’s business.
Go and find your bushel and then shine!
I think that sometimes parental guidance, school stringency, or just plain trying to fit in the box can kick the old flair right out of us. I dare to argue that not just sometimes but most of the time. We come in brand new and by the time we are between the ages of 5 and 10 our brilliance is dimmed to a mere flicker. I remember clearly when my deep abiding compassion was snuffed a bit. I was 11 or 12 watching the news. I had this gift (or curse depending) to actually feel and see myself in others shoes. So for example, if someone was on the news telling of the tornado that hit their home and how they hid in the bathroom, I could relive the whole experience in my head as if it happened to me! I was experiencing such an event while watching the news. A family member who I worshipped, without cruelty or trying to be callous, commented how overly sensitive I was. That very moment I buried that talent as far down as I could. I thought it was a bad thing.
So the Papaya girl…we had arrived home from a lovely family event complete with Grandparents, Aunts/Uncles, and cousins. Sam, LIv, Maya and myself indulged in a little late night television until our eyes could barely stay open while the Prince retired to the boudoir upon our arrival. Maya finally had the gumption, after a couple of hours, to suggest that we retire for the evening.
Backstory: Sometimes Prince Charming snores.
So Maya insist that “tonight mom, I am going to turn down my bed for you to sleep in. I am going to sleep with Daddy tonight because he snores and I snore so we have become accustomed to each other.” I think naming her after Maya Angelou and Ayn Rand (two great authors) have destined her Einstein gift to manifest itself.
So I speak on our talents once again because I believe there is a need for us, at any age, to reach back to the start of our lives and really see what our talents were and are. I get the hiding talents under the old bushel story better. It isn’t about practicing violin every day or perfecting your football “pass”. It is, in my mind’s eye, that we have true talents that cannot always be seen that we have hidden down deep in the bushel of our soul. We felt dumb professing we can give comfort to anyone or we didn’t believe that we really could see things in the future. Or maybe the ability to love anybody didn’t seem like a genius or to forgive quickly seemed like a bad thing. The talents we truly had at the start of our entity that we pushed under the bushel of our soul because it didn’t fit in the box we live in. So be like my genius vo-cab-a-ler (not a word I know) and let your talents shine like nobody’s business.
Go and find your bushel and then shine!
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