The mere existence of coincidence would make this post completely unnecessary. Yet, as I always say, chance and coincidence might exist; I just choose to ignore them!

Have you ever had a pen so good you stopped using it because you didn’t want the ink to finish? Have you ever had an item of clothing so bad you were happy to make a rag of it?

In life, there are gifts and there are skills; and the two are often interchanged. I, however, opine that they differ. A skill is something you pick up along the way and get better at by practice. A gift (or talent), on the other hand, is something you were born with; something you excel in without stress – it just flows “naturally”. They say every human is born with a gift. I spent my first 14+ years desperately trying to believe this. At the time, all physical evidence proved contrary to that theory.

If the saying “the gift of a man makes way for him” is assumed true, it only means one thing: find your gift, find your way! The human population is said to be in the region of 6.7 billion. Yet, no one ever conducted a successful census on the “Gifts” population; gifts are truly countless. A gift could be anything. For one, it could be the ability to discern – to hear more than is being said. For another, it might be something as abstract {and seemingly lowly} as tasting. “Try using spring onions instead. They taste more direct” {do they?}. Some have the gift of counseling or consultancy; they hear other people’s problems, project themselves into those scenarios and proffer solutions! Your own gift might even be helping others find their gifts. I wish I could say the one sure way to find your gift – but I CAN’T; alas! I’m still searching too.

Some people say there is no God. Some others say God does exist and is in fact a comedian. One thing I’ve always known is this: LIFE IS CRAZY! Crazy people have a sense of humour – albeit, usually warped! In life, it’s much easier to get carried away by worries of lack than it is to focus on what we have. It’s like a distracted rugby-league player who’s not sure he’s got the ball until he sees 13 monster-men trying to knock him out for it. So, life leaves us pointers – or crumbs –  that help us find that path it chose for us. Flashing back over the years, I can’t help but laugh. Lemme tell you why:

I may be madly in love with the “afro” now, but my first real hairstyle was the “skin” {P.K.A “Godo”, A.K.A Sunshine-in-Morocco, N.K.A “Gorimapa”, O.K.A “Jordan”}. Imagine a four-month old sporting the “skin”! I musta looked like ET. Well, Doc said I had boils on my head, so, ….. I came through that theatre experience alright, but then I spent the next couple of years getting my toe-nails popped by the home door. Just when I thought all that was coming to an end, I had a spate of crashes in which my head showed incredible affinity for hard surfaces: two car crashes, once I toppled off the chair while trying to do an acrobatic sit-in-the-chair spin {BTW it wasn’t a revolving chair}. A few hand injuries occupied the space between all that and a serious knee injury. In truth, every physical accident I’ve ever been in involved my head, hands or legs. {Okay, I got hit real hard in the nuts one time but that shouldn’t really count – except I was destined to be another “Tuface”!} Then, I discovered I could work my feet faster than is popular, think through some pretty complicated scenarios and also have an award-winning writing {would easily win a razzy!} That’s how I’m sure my real gift lies somewhere between my head, hand and legs. But wait! That’s about my whole mass! Maybe I still have some gift-discovery work to do!

Life sometimes tries to draw our attention towards certain directions. Her call might not be pretty – in fact, it might be outright hurtful (like most of mine) – but if you can read between those painful lines, you will get her message. Sometimes, it takes those unpretty “crumbs” to tell us what we really have. Afterall, if someone’s trying to take something from you, it’s only because you have it. Coach won’t stop screaming “Damn it! You dribble too much for a defender!” If you try very hard but can’t stop, maybe you weren’t meant to be a defender!

So, you (will soon) know your talent – and your way, by extension. Great! That’s the gift – but life never serves a plain dish; it’s always a sweet and sour cuisine. You see, an item can both be aptly described by what it is and what it isn’t. You realize who you aren’t in the same moment you realize who you are! You see what you cannot be in the same moment you see what you can be! As a human, despite countless other advantages, you’ll find you cannot exceed 150 years. As a tortoise, you might – but then you’d be ugly, reclusive and slow. As a rock, {except you were made in china} you can expect to live forever – but on one spot! Here’s the good news: The duo might be inseparable, but the curse always pales next to the gift! If you learn to appreciate what you’ve got, you’ll begin to notice the people that would gladly kill to be you!

Women were blessed with influence (brain), men with power (brawn). Nothing was ever said (by any credible source) of one sex being superior to the other; each is a unique purpose-oriented design. Yet, ours is a world where role-reversals are always on the cards. Super-fast welterweight boxing champ says he’s not happy; the other champs jeer at him. They say he punches like a girl. He adopts their training schedules and ends up with a heavier punch – but then, he’s way too heavy (and slow) for his former weight class. He has to forfeit his belts! Renowned hearse-driver says he’s tired of not receiving tips like his other cab-driver friends. He gets himself a cab but he panics and causes a huge crash the first time a passenger ever taps his shoulder! He kills two and his lawyer says he’s lucky to go down for manslaughter!

The truth is: no matter how seemingly lowly your gift is, if you embrace it, the world would envy you!

NEVER CONFUSE THE DESIRE TO BE BETTER WITH THE NEED TO BE SOMEONE ELSE!!!