What are you doing with what you’ve been given?

I love this question. It has always resonated with me and inspired me. So simple, yet at times so hard to pinpoint. We all have unique gifts and talents, sometimes the challenge comes in finding them, but more often I think I think the challenge comes in appreciating and capitalizing on them. I am not talking about the remarkable 1 in a million ones, like the voice of Whitney Houston, the speed of Usain Bolt, or the brain of Einstein. I m talking about the everyday ones that we take for granted in ourselves. The co-worker who keeps her cool while standing in the line at security knowing there’s a decent chance she’ll miss her plane, the PTO president who keeps track of 10,000 details without missing a beat, the friend who sees you because she always listening and wholeheartedly present. We all have these things and sometimes we don’t even know they are there, they are just who we are. 

When I started making jewelry it wasn’t because I thought of myself as an artist. It was during covid and and it soothed my anxious mind, passed the empty hours and allowed me to envision the days to come when I would wear my creations, in public! What I came to find was that my hands were dexterous and my patience long with the, at times, somewhat mundane tasks. I loved the science behind metal working and for the first time in my life appreciated the chemistry courses I had been forced to take. I had a knack for this. Over the years I have worked to perfect my craft and my technique, researched and embraced designs. Today the identity of an artist is finding a home in me.

So is this my answer to what I’m doing with what I’ve been given? I think its one of many. As is the case with so many of you. But, if I can deliver a bit of inspiration in every necklace adorned, every ring worn, and every bracelet clasped, it is to open your mind to all that you are, big and small. Find the things that make you you, and let go of the ones that don’t. What came bundled up when you took your first breath was enough then and is enough now. Honor it and share it with the rest of us.