TRY - Use What Talents You Possess

A parrot sat on a branch

 "Use what talents you possess; the woods would be very silent if no birds sang there except those that sang best."
- Henry Van Dyke

 I read this quote recently and found it so profound.
In my latest blog post i spoke about our need to create. 

 I think that one of the main reasons that we do not pursue our creative inclinations is due to fear. Fear of inadequacy, fear of failure, fear of criticism.

I recently heard an interview with Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love. In the interview she asked a series of questions: when did you stop dancing? When did you stop drawing? When did you stop [insert whatever you once enjoyed here]? Chances are it was when you were no longer a child, when you started to care what people think.

We often don't want to add to the great noise of information and creation on the internet; we are afraid to share what we create. But nobody would say of the forest that too many birds sing, that the cacophony is too awful to bear.

I don't imagine this blog taking off anytime soon, and i don't mind if it doesn't. I feel grateful for the small readership I have of mostly friends and family. I write this blog to create, because i enjoy it. There are many (many, many) better bloggers than me, but if I let that put me off then I would never do anything.

In the same way I hope that you don't let fear stop you from doing, from creating.

May we overcome fear, may we recognise the small talents that we have, and may we try.

Comments

  1. Unknown4 October 2019 at 13:46

    Wise words indeed Simon! Very inspiring thank you!

    ReplyDelete

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