My gift was before I had kids that I could fall asleep very fast and stay asleep even when it's loud around me. Now I have lost that gift, I need to build a new one.
My wife has this gift, and I am so jealous. Just a simple fly buzzing around the room is enough to wake me up and even if it's absolutely silent, I still need at least 20 minutes to fall asleep.
Last night went like this.
Me "Honey, look at the sky from our window! It's so clear tonight."
Her "Yeah..."
"Look, there's Alpha and Beta Centauri (star names)."
"Mmm, pretty."
"Hard to believe they are so many light years away."
I can take nothing and turn it into something. As a result, i've never ever lived anywhere that wasn't beautiful.
I can't stand to live in surroundings that are depressing, or speak to depravation. I can literally turn the most mundane surroundings into a pleasant place to be without spending money.
I can look at the most rundown place and see huge possibilities. I can turn rags into something you'd love to wear.
I think by gifts he or she is implying something that comes naturally to you. Some people are naturally good at expressing themselves through writing. Some people are naturally good at playing an instrument.
Seriously. And so is everyone else. People may have a particularly developed function and tool for expressing that, but...what use are they putting these to?
I'm an editor. I can write but it's so much more fun for me to take other peoples' writing and polish it up so that their talent really shines. I've also been told I give a great massage.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/12/2013 12:29AM by CA girl.
I think we all have gifts that are specially designed around our personalities and abilities. They are, for the most part, ways to express ourselves to the benefit of others.
I can get people to laugh. I am a bit of a story teller, writer-write poetry, satire, parody, etc, been a performing musician, and teacher, can write music from time to time. I've directed,produced, costumed small theater events, including acting. I'm an extrovert, upbeat and happy, and enjoy people of all sorts. I'm willing to give a lot of things away.
I love multimedia crafts of different sorts, creating personalized items for family and friends.
I've lived a long time, so I have a lot of experience/talent/skill in a lot of areas. I'm always looking for new ways to express myself.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/12/2013 12:37AM by SusieQ#1.
My special gift is the ability to piss people off just by clicking on the "Like" button on Facebook. It's amazing how quickly I developed that skill. I've even had people unfriend me over it. The funny thing about this skill is everyone I've pissed off and unfriended me were Mormon. Go figure.
P.S. I used to be a pretty descent Software Engineer before I got sick and had to stop working.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/12/2013 12:41AM by Mnemonic.
I think I am a natural mediator. I have always been able to take a practical approach in tough situations, even contentious situations. I do not overreact and lose my cool. It is not something I acquired, it's just the way I have always been.
I think calling these learned skills as "gifts" is going too far over the cliff. Some of you have evolved to have a greater ability in some area, whether it be music or mathematics, but really...calling it a gift implies a supernatural being thoughtfully gave you a special gift and calling.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/12/2013 02:22AM by orange.
Not sure why you think calling something a "gift" implies supernatural involvement. Some people are truly gifted at certain things, naturally. It just happens.
The term "gift" is an old religious way of thinking each human will be given something to benefit man and we need to find out what that is. We are clearly of bunch of random genes changing through time. If a person has a mutation that lets the person whistle a tune is not a "gift". It is clearly a random mutation. It may be beneficial to the organism or not. Maybe the ability to whistle a tune prevents the organism from finding a mate and have offspring...well there went your "gift" a useless ability lost through evolution.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/12/2013 02:42AM by orange.
I think that we're just calling them "gifts" because that's the terminology we're used to, not necessarily because we think they're from God or not. I still have a hard sometimes filtering out old ways of saying things that were hard-wired into my brain even though I don't believe them anymore, like "We're very blessed" when I actually mean "We're very fortunate" or "I felt impressed" vs "I had a hunch," etc.
Lesse . . . seasoning food and puzzle solving seem to be innate for me (maybe we can agree to use that word instead of 'gift').
That led me into a degree in physics and an interest in fixing things. In that way, I am like Dr. House - I have to find the answer and keep working at it until I figure it out.
I had a college professor who once told us, "There are very few concepts so complex that they cannot be explained to a reasonably bright nine-year-old, provided that you explain it correctly."
That was probably the single most valuable thing I learned in college.
I spent a career trying to explain extremely complicated rules and regulations (governmental) to people at all educational levels, including none at all. I sometimes had to resort to drawing pictures. There were some people who didn't understand the concept of "now, here's an example. . ."
I can't say I always succeeded. But I had a lot of people say, "Gee, I wish so-and-so had explained it like that!" it was so gratifying to help people understand.
And yeah, I think it's a gift, because clearly, not everyone has it. Or cares to use it.
I was raised by perfectionistic parents in a dysfunctional Mormon family, and I'm female, so I don't think I have any gifts or talents--other than my body, maybe. I don't do anything perfectly. Nothing seems easy or natural to me. I guess I WAS athletic, when I was young, because I was good at many sports, and coached some of them. I also taught piano.
My ex sister-in-law once said to me, "You are so talented. I would give ANYTHING if I could play the piano like you." I said, "If you would give 1/2 hour every day for 7 years, you could play these pieces. I have no talent. It was just hard work.
Oh, yeah, I'm a good mother! But I've had to work hard at that, too. (Lousy wife, though.)
Parts of life they have lived through or overcome identify awe in survival triumph not just the difficulty
Now many share the positive narratives saying despite that happened or can you believe looking at me
That's it that's probably my biggest gift. Lifelong. Besides looking for vibrant colors or rainbows lining along clouds and always walking toward sprinkler mist on a sunny day. One year I found hearts on the beach piles snd piles of rocks at my feet and when I looked down there was another heart. Does that count?
The ability to try to find the positive to chose to seek the comfort and beauty surrounding me despite somewhat accurate awareness and experience of life's suffering or unfairness.
Oh and henna. Henna with cinnamon sparkling auburn red twinkling highlights almost for free converting each white hair into a vibrant cherry burst of vibrance like sable fox amongst the dark dark brown almost black hairs. T h a t is a gift thst I am most proud of or enjoying it anyways this bright sunny weekend winding down at the coast.