I made a pie recently, one that required chunks of dark chocolate. I had a bar of 90% cacao and just had to use it. I dug from the kitchen drawer a little grating tool, loaded the chunks of chocolate, and started grating. Some time later, I gave up on this method, only producing chocolate dust instead of chunks and fussing far too much with what should have been a simple tool. I made my pie and set about washing up. That's when I noticed it, the little hole in the middle bar of the grater, the hole where the pin was supposed to go. The pin would have held things in place better and would have changed my workflow completely.
We work so hard sometimes to merely function in this world we forget the little tools we've been given to make things easier. Fact is, things will only turn out the way we want them if we use those tools. We don't always take pride in the talents we have and we don't always think them valuable, but they are there for a reason. Days go by and we function, but not to the best of our ability. We either forget the armor and weapons we possess or spend all our time wishing we had those that belong to others.
Each of us have an assortment of talents, experiences, and knowledge that is unique to us. If you're a writer, don't despair because of the number of writers out there. None of them put words to a page the way you do. If you are in new media, the vast untamed world that it is, don't make notoriety your number one focus. Instead, make your focus the truth, put your weight behind integrity. Notoriety can follow and if it does, you'll be better equipped to handle it and use it properly. If you're like me, a creative of the visual nature, follow that little flame you have in your soul. It's there to guide you because it knows you. Don't worry about the other people in your field, what they're doing and whether or not they accept you. Their linchpin won't fit your life anyway.
And in politics, using your gifts becomes even more important. We're at a tenuous time in the history of our great nation. Politicians, like so many of us, have become obsessed by reputation and reward, forsaking character completely. What is character if not using the great gifts we've been given of talent and experience for good? That is what we need now, people with knowledge, real, tested practices that change things for the better. They're out there; folks not only with those gifts, but blessed with courage, something you must have to fight a battle like this.
A new year is a time for new beginnings, but it's also a time to learn from the past. Look ahead to 2013 with renewed faith of someone who is blessed to be alive. Not just that, but as someone who is blessed with so much to share. Remember, your gifts are unique to you. Use them and you will be very surprised how much easier things can be. And once you've learned to use what you have, teach others to use what they have. I know it would have been helpful for someone to dig that little pin out of the drawer and hand it me. Time saved indeed.
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