It all seems so common now, either because I have become aware of so many more books on the issue, or because so many more have been written recently, or (most probably) both. But something I saw on Ten Mile Beach on Lake Superior brought me back to that magazine and its most significant message: that we were all born with an exceptional talent. Many would disagree: Leonardo Da Vinci towers over just about anyone in his display of magnificent artistic and intellectual gifts, as do so many others. Most of us, in comparison (certainly me) are such small fry. And yet, I am convinced that we all have gifts. I have seen them up close and personal recently in my dealings with people doing things for the church I attend. And I have seen it more than once at that same beach.
It is this: almost every time I go up to that beach, which is isolated from humans off-season, and never crowded in more than a few spots, I have seen impressive works of art that people have made in the sand from articles in the natural environment. Because the beach is strewn with stones of many shaped, colors, and sizes, they always include those. Often, wood that has been carved by the waves is included as well. Some are pretty good. The one I saw last weekend was better than pretty good. It was a snail- spiral (nautilus) made of smoothed stones that increased and then decreased in size in just the right way with just the right colors. More than that: under each stone was put a tiny leaf from a small plant, and on top of each was puts its small, conical maroon and white flower. The effect was truly beautiful, and what made it special was that it was put there for all to see without the presence of the artist, with the knowledge that very soon someone, or some wave or wind, would soon wipe it away. It was put there for enjoyment without ego glory or money involved. It was simply that person’s gift on display.
The Quest came to mind because a famous artist of the mystic, Kaminsky, had done something similar years before, and it had been put on the cover of the magazine. So that picture had come around full circle: the magazine talked of our special spiritual gifts, Kaminsky’s had been put on display, and I had seen it recapitulated in an uncelebrated work of art in the sand, reminding me of the importance the Quest had once had for me – and should have for all of us, for we all share in the gifts, whether they make us famous or only delight a tourist walking the beach. We should all understand that we are never left by the side while others are admired as they trot around the globe. No one is ever left aside. The Gift could be small and private, or large and commercial, but it is there nonetheless, a reminder that we all matter to the force of creation.
But there was more to complete that circle: a few days later, on my drive back home, I listened to an audio book named The Magic Strings of Frankie Presto by Mitch Albom. It is a fiction about a man’s remarkable life due to his remarkable gift – he is a great singer and songwriter and guitarist. It is Forrest Gump-like in that this fictional character, Francisco “Frankie”, was constantly involved with the great popular artists of his day, from Loui Armstrong to Elvis (and then some – I am not finished with the book) and is narrated by the personification of the angel of inspiration, or gifts. We begin the book with the angel looking on at Frankie’s funeral, talking about his (Frankie’s) life. He says, to paraphrase, “when we are first born, I [the angel] surround that baby with colors. Each color is a gift, and the baby is naturally compelled to choose one.” Frankie, of course, chose music, but the colors are many and the trajectories that these gifts give to the life of an individual are infinite, further colored by our social background, the historical period, and how we choose to express those gifts. When a person dies, that particular gift is put back into the color pool for other babies to choose.
Thus to complete the circle: a few blogs ago, Cal Roeker put out the question to me – “what evolution do you see after writing this blog for 4 and one half years?” Clearly he sees an evolution, as do I now that I have been made to look at it. It is to become more serious spiritually. This is part of my gift, as I learned from the Quest, brought along with an ability to write fairly well. But I cannot fully answer that question, at least for now, for two reasons: one, that the gift has not yet been fully exploited, meaning I still don’t know where it will take me, for my gift does not include the gift of certainty. And two: that this, my gift, is just one of so many. I am willing to share it when the feeling comes that I must, but the world does not hold its breath. It is just me, one of so many. This is not false modesty – I appreciate my gift and am more than willing to share it. But so many others are desperately trying to find their own that mine could, and often should, take second or fifth or less fiddle.
For now, I hope my best effort through my gift will be this: that, as I found from the Quest, I hope the reader will understand that each of us IS born with a color, a gift. And that to find it sometimes we need to listen to that quiet voice. It is our choices from then on that will determine our lives. But the gift is there. It most certainly is, making no one in God’s eyes any more or less special than anyone else. It is what we learn from our use of the gift, or our inability to find it, that will mark the better part of our final judgement. FK