Discovering Your Unique Gifts
“Thank you for sharing your gifts.”
I have to pinch myself every time someone tells me this, because for so long, I didn’t know what my gifts were, and trust me, I was desperately trying to find them.
Through a whole lot of practice, self-doubt, and failing forward, I learned guided meditation was one of them. In the discovery process, I learned there’s no set instruction to finding your gifts.
Your gifts develop as the byproduct of a courageous and purposeful life.
In the Hero’s Journey motif, the hero goes out into the world on a mission. He or she slays demons and comes back with a sacred treasure to share with the community. Sometimes the community welcomes the hero, and other times they’re not ready to receive them.
We are all the heroes on the mission of our life. The demons are of the mind—fear, self-doubt, shame, and a host of others. The realization of our essence is the treasure, and the gift is how we share that essence. Sometimes they’ll be willing to receive it, and other times we’ll be rejected. Regardless, it is time well spent.
The question then becomes, are we actively working to grow ourselves and rid the demons of shame and self-doubt so that we may share our gifts?
I believe we all have gifts, a unique genius to bring forth. I speak of genius in its’ original definition, “attendant spirit present from one’s birth, innate ability or inclination.” We all possess an innate ability our spirit is yearning to express.
How do we know what our gifts are?
Like, I said, it’s an unfolding, not so much a finding. The courage to uncover our gifts is what lets the genius through. In thinking of how I stumbled upon my gifts, I want to share some qualities to look for to help you stumble upon yours. We’ll use the acronym GIFT to guide us: Gratitude, Inspiration, Freedom, Transformation.
Gratitude
You know something is a gift when you feel grateful for the opportunity to give it. If you read my post from a few weeks ago, you know how grateful I am to have the chance to engage with you. I feel the same thing every time I sit in front of a microphone or lead a meditation. It is a privilege to do this work, and the reverence I have for it is fulfilling in itself.
Inspiration
Our gifts are inspired, which means in-spirit. It is “ours”, yet we feel at times that we are stewards of another realm, chosen to birth something into existence. It is a gift to us as much as we make it one to others. Some people call this inspiration "The muse". However you relate to it, it comes to us, to work through us in a way that connects us to others, and supports them in their journey. When we let inspiration work through, we get a sense that we are playing our role in the cosmos.
Freedom
Our gifts free us from a mundane level of existence. They offer freedom of expression and freedom of living. When something is our gift, the universe will support it. Maybe not at first, but if you keep working at it you will find your way, and that way will reap rewards, spiritually and financially. Yet, you won’t do it just for the money. Free also means that your gift is something which you’d happily give away for the joy that it brings you. I created meditations on Insight Timer for years, with no thought of getting money in return because I got something so much greater than money—meaning.
Transformation
Our gift transforms us because it forces us to grow in our self-belief and skills. We have to conquer our demons of insecurity and go through the struggle of learning a craft. We make investments in ourselves and work to embody self-worth. Through that process, we become someone new, capable of things we wouldn’t think possible only a short time ago. By transforming ourselves and sharing our gifts, we transform the world.
As Marianne Williamson famously said, “As we let our light shine, we unconsciously give others permission to do the same.”
Discovering Your Gifts is a short meditation that inspires these qualities so you can shine your light with the world.
Have a listen, here.
Deep Bows,
Lou
PS. An excerpt of my poem, “Belief is a Dream”
“We need your gifts, we need your aliveness.
The time is now, don’t pass by this.
If you try this, you’ll see your life creates ripples.
Your beingness transforms the world, it’s really that simple.”