You have a Gift. You ARE a Gift to the world and if you
haven’t already shared this Gift, what are you waiting for? The world needs the
one and only Gift that is unique to you. Your Gift is restless and calling from
the inner depths to be let out.
What most don’t realize or acknowledge is this: the Universe
WANTS you to accept your Gift, wants you to succeed, and to be happy! And when
you finally choose to start moving in the direction of the Gift, the Universe/God/Love
will rise up in seeming miraculous ways to meet you and help you give birth to
it! It may not happen overnight, but when you keep moving toward it, it WILL
move toward you.
The Gift is the thing you want more than anything, but are
afraid to go after. Once you have acknowledged that it’s there, the Gift won’t
leave you alone. Try as you will, your calling will not let you forget it. You
may choose the misery of dodging the Gift for years, decades maybe, but it will
always catch up with you. It will tap you on the shoulder and say, “Hi,
remember me?” through the voice of a friend, a book, or an article that ignites
a spark of recognition in your heart of hearts.
The Gift shows up as the tightness in your belly or your head
when you are ignoring its cries for attention, doing work you are
ultimately not designed for. The Gift is the gentle voice that relentlessly
repeats itself in your head saying, “You can do this!” this dream that keeps inviting you. That kinder voice is trying
to be heard over the clamor of old tapes declaring your inability, inadequacy,
unworthiness, or the impossibility of your dream.
Right now, the Gift that is gestating inside of you may feel
as strong as the prelude to an earthquake or as soft as the rolling and pawing
of a kitten in a paper bag. But one day, when you can stand it no longer, the
earth will tremble beneath you. The kitten will claw and tear its way out of
the bag like a roaring lion…if you let it!
Fear is a crafty entity and the biggest obstacle to using
your Gift. Your mind will do cartwheels to reinforce the fear, even build upon
it. It will come up with the most logical, sensible reasons why you should keep
your Gift at bay. “I’m no good at that.” “What will others think?” “There’s no
money (or not enough) in it!” “What if it doesn’t work?” “Better stay safe!” But
is it truly “safe” to reinforce fear and amplify the angst of wondering what
could have been?
Choices made by fear may appear to be the easy way because
they are familiar. It’s the way you’ve always done it. Choices made by LOVE are
not always easy. They can seem difficult and require more work because they are
not the mainstream way of doing things. You will probably stumble and make mistakes. I’ve often made choices
that many would consider foolish. Yet I
ignored the well-meaning naysayers in favor of the passion in my gut that was
beckoning me to the dance. At times it felt like jumping off a cliff, yet
always something or someone was there to catch me, to spur me on, and to dance
with me in the glorious field of realized dreams!
Perhaps this was an additional meaning behind the journeys of
heroes like Gandhi and Martin Luther King who identified their Gifts and
allowed their Gifts to lead them. They showed us that it is far worse to sit in
the mire than to stand up for what is aching to be made right. These men led
whole countries of people to a better way. Isn’t it just as important to lead
yourself to revealing the Gifts that only you can impart on the world?
Your Gift is made of LOVE. The Gift is right there inside
you. The Gift is YOU…on fire.
