“Inside you there’s an artist you don’t know about … Say yes quickly, if you know, if you’ve known it from before the beginning of the universe.”  Jalai Ud-Din Rumi

I’ve known it.  I’ve known it for as long as I can remember.  But like Sarah says, I felt uncomfortable thinking of myself that way for most of my life.  I was a quirky, insecure kid, always afraid to be myself, afraid of being different.  I always had creative passion.  In high school, I really wanted to take shop and art.  I didn’t have the confidence to take an art class.  I was afraid I wouldn’t be good enough.  And back then, shop wasn’t a requirement for girls, and in fact, no “cool” girls would have dreamed of entering that dirty, greasy world where the “burnouts” hung out.  I didn’t understand that participating in something like that, something that was considered far from mainstream, was cool.

“With every choice, every day, you are creating a unique work of art.  Something that only you can do.  The reason you were born was to leave your own indelible mark on your personal world.  This is your authenticity.”  Sarah Ban Breathnach

The beauty of growing up is learning that our uniqueness is cool.  It takes some of us much longer than others.  I finally took a painting class when I was in my late 30s, and discovered I wasn’t half bad with some guidance on how to get started.  But it wasn’t until my late 40s that I really began to appreciate the coolness of my uniqueness.  I may be a bit quirky, but I have discovered that I am not so unorthodox compared to my business contemporaries as I once thought.  I think we all have a bit of quirkiness inside of us, and I know I for one really appreciate – no, enjoy – the quirkiness in others.  It is so much more entertaining than someone too straight-laced, isn’t it?  Your unique work of art may not be art in the way we think of it, but whatever your unique gifts are, they are art, for they are something that exists only because of you.

“If you are willing to step out in faith and take a leap in the dark, you will discover that your choices are as authentic as you are.  What is more, you will discover that your life is all it was meant to be:  a joyous sonnet of thanksgiving.”  SBB

What are your special gifts?  Are you using them to become your most authentic self?  If not, 2014 is a great time to start!

Shalom!