The process of growing up includes the process of discovering who you are and liking what you discover. Do not let fear beat out the tender sparks of your hidden talents or latent uniqueness. They cannot be measured against the yard stick of your present limited capabilities. Abilities will grow with care and practice. However, if we waited until we were so proficient that they could not be denied, then our talents would be still born. There would be no Beethoven. No Einstein. No Joseph Smith. No real you or me. A desperately hungry world, would remain unsatisfied and uniformed because there was an absence of motivation.
One of the greatest virtues of God is his ability to see in us what others do not. In his wisdom, he gives us the time to feel, to evaluate and discover what it is, that only he can presently see, and only we can presently feel.
Both in nature and in the arts, beauty is magnified through diversity. Diversity is also the excitement of living. What a dull and uninspiring world it would be if all we had to offer is what is approved by the judgmental few. The majesty of the rising and setting of the sun, the ballet of a school of fish, the look of a Mother as she first caresses her newly born. Who will share these emotions with us? Whose minds have been moved to reverent silence or majestic awesomeness because of them?
Or what of the terror and hopeless agony in the eyes of the dispossessed and abandoned? Those whose numbers are beyond counting, who have discarded hope for their future and for their children’s future. What of the exquisite gratitude of those who are rescued from these situations of impossible desperation? Who can express these emotions by words or music, photos or documents so they remain unmistakable and unforgettable in our consciousness? Who among us needs to be taught how to express such anguish if our souls have been seared and our minds numbed into understanding by personal experiences? Theirs are the voices that give words that burn our ears and melt our hardened hearts and move us to change what should be changed.
What the world really needs are those who have the courage to bear their souls while they are yet imperfect. Of course, perfected skills in any craft is desired and are of unparalleled value. These can be taught and acquired over time. The flowering of a talent is more dependent upon the sprouting of its aspiration than it is in its blossoming. The latter can never be realized unless and until the former has begun.
In all of us there lies greatness. The lack of skill is secondary to the possession of a burning desire. If you want to sing, sing now. It may only be exciting to you at the moment, but if it excites you enough, you will sing until there will be those who desire as much to listen to you as you desire to sing If you want to paint, dance, perform, build or to do any other righteous endeavor, then do it and pursue it with all the passion in you, even if no one responds. Do it because it is in you to do so. Not only will you expressed it in an unique way which only you can give birth to, but you might in the process ignite in others that motivation to give life to their dreams as well. Many of the world’s greatest motivators, writers, speakers, artists and creators are awaiting discovery. Not by others but by themselves.
Doug Garrett