Do you have incredible skill?

How do you know?

All people have their weaknesses, challenged areas. It's only human to be somewhat foible, somewhat vulnerable in a few areas of skill.
Improve, do your best, then don't worry about the rest. Yupp.
I once knew a guy from Nantucket who failed and then said.....
JK
Warped, sarcastic sense of humor that I have, just had to!

It's quite a delicate balance when one has such skill at something that others are amazed by, to remain humble. Becoming overly self assured is bound to come back to bite ya in the okole when a mistake is made. No matter how small or how colossal the screw up is, detractors will pounce on it.
Or, in contemporary jargon. Haters gonna hate.

Many people have natural skills that are as much a part of them as breathing, as effortless as drinking a glass of water or Jameson, or..........yeah, you get it. STOP GRINNING!
Okay,I'll stop grinning, this is a fun topic to write about for me!

King Charlemagne, King of the Franks united most of western Europe during the early middle ages. He was a natural leader. Very fair, just, merciful, jolly, kind. Everyone loved him which, as history has shown, is not always the case with monarchs.

Catherine the Great had a natural talent for ruling firmly with a velvet touch. She made Russia into a strong nation under her rule.
She didn't want to rule, it simply fell into her lap. Maybe. :)

Forward in more recent times.

Elvis Presley had natural musical talent.
Michael Jordan had natural agility on a basketball court.
Prince Roger Nelson played 20 musical instruments by age 12.
Thomas Cruise Mopather IV has natural dramatic talent.

These natural gifts, with a little bit of mentoring, maybe a bit of luck? These gifts come out in a very strong way. It was natural..

Myself, you ask?

I have a very creative mind. Very diversely imaginative. Also very, very, deeply curious, which gets me in trouble sometimes. All in good harmless fun. Legal, mostly moral, all mischief.
When serving with the USAF at Edwards AFB, I found that I see things in graph form. Being introduced to a form of creative expression using thousands of tiny squares of a myriad of diverse colors together, to form a picture of anything, sparked with me. Resonated in my mind, unleashing a flood of creativity that gave me great outlet for self expression. Gave my mind focus to slip into a meditative state of being that soothed me. Not that I needed soothing, yet, it was a mini vacation of mind.
Over time I have only delved deeper into this, getting better at it, creating works of art which other people have received as gifts for various special occasions. Sometimes, just because.

As someone, myself, who is a very loving, sharing, giving person, I have had to learn to hold back, somewhat.
My heart wants to give
Cares too much
Every precious day I live
Even deepest wells can run dry
As daily water is drawn
Can dissipate then die
Having learned to water my own soul
With creative pursuits
In the time I spend making myself feel whole

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So, back to you. *smile*

How does a person discover their natural gifts? Many are discovered quite by chance. Others are discovered by pursuing that which was a duty in their life or while pursuing what they only thought was their true calling in life.
Case in point.
A few years ago my dentist, who was a very good dentist, very gifted. He breezed through his training so easily, his teachers thought he'd been through it in another country. The truth was that his mother thought he would be a very good Forest Ranger. He followed that profession at first, hated it, felt there must be something more to life for him than what he was doing.
Finally, by chance, he was reading some material about dentistry, about tooth structure, about how teeth can be preserved with proper professional care. It sparked something in him. His mother was reticent, yet, supportive. He breezed through his educational courses as easily as breathing. After graduating, he began as an apprentice dentist in a small town. Then, he moved on, taking a huge leap, starting his own practice. The rest.........well..........you know......

I know I would have been a fantastic doctor or teacher with my love for helping others, empathic nature, intuition. Yet, I devoted many years, many hours to supporting an ex huzz in his military career. Sacrificed to be a good mother to 4 children who have gone on to make positive contributions to the world.
Sacrificed the time I could have spent doing something else.

There is a feeling in my heart, a budding youthful spirit that I'm just getting started! A feeling that the very best of life is yet to happen. Feeling that although I have discovered many of my gifts, there are more that will be discovered in time, in time.

When my Michael died, my Archangel, I felt a part of me die inside. Unfairly, he was the yardstick by which I measured each guy I met.
Subconsciously, I did this, not realizing it until recently. My Michael left a hole in my heart where he had been, it will always be there to some extent, yet, it feels less gaping, now. The searing, throbbing pain has settled into a scar, still there, still palpable, yet, healed as much as it will ever heal. After he was gone I had hoped I would find someone of his caliber. Another crazy A-10 Pilot, maybe a Special Forces Hero? Nope.

Sadly, it never happened.

I could have been that sweet, fiery feminine reason he always made it back home. Home, where the bed was red hot, the home cooked meals were the best, the loyalty ran deep.

Nope.

Never happened.

Moving on, I knew I had to keep going. Keep using the gifts I have, keep finding new ones. The Lady Hawk flies solo.

My gifts are:

Remaining humble always
Compassion
Great sense of humor
Positive, always looking on the positive!
Excellent cook
Intuition
Can make beautiful clothing without a sewing pattern
Drive & determination to accomplish my objective
Great organizing skills ~ Have organized for friends as a gift
Learning languages~My Spanish, French & German still rock!
Deep, DEEP loyalty to those I love ~ yes, this is a skill! Shush!

These are positive attributes which I know I have. Not bragging at all. It's not bragging when there are goods to back it up!
It's a personal wish that others also can identify, magnify, enjoy their skills, attributes, natural gifts.
Then, share them with the world. Do some good out there where there is darkness, creating light, your light will light the darkness for others who will in turn share their light.

Now, I'm getting preachy. :P

Find your gifts, light your own candle.

Peace