Talent..where does it come from??

Sorry for my lack of writing lately...I have a lot going on with work and preparing to move and just general life but I will try to do better!! :)

So this past weekend we went to a party, it was fun, got to meet some new people and enjoy some guitars and singing.  Looking around the room at a variety of people, it got me thinking, why do certain people have certain talents?  I mean, I can guess why on a scientific level but plainly on a cognitive level, it really got me thinking.
We had a very yummy and amazingly decorated cake while we were there by lovely Kathleen Donovan (check out her page on Facebook) but then even though she had a cold she sat down and sang better than I ever could, cold or not, and played the guitar.  That was three talents all in one night that were displayed...cake making, singing and guitar.
Then not once but TWICE Peter played an original song that he literally made up on the spot!  He made up two whole songs by just starting to play his guitar and singing.  I was honestly floored when he told me that he just made them up as he went along.  They were really good and he would never remember them the next day but the fact that he could do that just blew my mind!
For a moment I thought, well this is all really rather unfair! haha  Also there were others playing guitar and singing and they looked free and comfortable and they really enjoyed their talent.
Rather than feel sorry for myself it got me thinking, there has to be something we are all good at!  It might not be something so overt such as singing or playing a guitar or being able to dance really well but we all must have something.
How often do we appreciate the things we are good at and really give ourselves credit?
It is a lot easier to pick ourselves apart with the negatives and a lot of people also feel that if they display or celebrate their talents that they will look arrogant or like a show-off.

I think though that it is really important to take a moment and recognize what we do well, what special gifts our parents and nature have given us in our almighty DNA!

Even though my potential has gone mostly unused so far in life, I do feel I have a talent for writing.  Even just writing the previous sentence I feel guilty for saying that but why?  It isn't as if I am saying, I am THE best writer ever.  I so am not, obviously but to even say I am good at something is hard to put out there.

Not everything we are good at is a talent such as being a good listener or being able to give good advice but they are positives and you should be able to recognize that.

What do you do well?  What is your talent and do you give yourself credit for having that talent?  Is your talent being wasted or used?

I admire people with overt talents and who use them and do celebrate them by sharing them with others!
What if figures such as Jackson Pollock or Bono or Mark Zuckerberg had kept their talents to themselves?

Just some food for thought!

Still reading...Water for Elephants and it is most excellent, I just haven't read much lately but I will!!

Until next time...xo

Where does your outlook on life really come from?

If we are lucky, each and everyday we wake up!  (hopefully you have gone to sleep at some point as well, this much I am going to assume).

We each swing our feet over the side of our sleeping apparatus (bed, futon, couch, whatever) and start a new day in this world.

But what is your attitude going to be like today and really, where does that come from?  I believe you really do choose your attitude!  I know that is an old and possibly corny statement but I really believe it.  Everyone, and I mean everyone, has stuff going on in their lives.  Whether you are a parent and you are juggling a thousand balls in the air at once, you might be having relationship or family issues, you might just not feel well that particular day.    Each and every person starts that day and chooses to deal with it in a certain way.

Through the avenue of Facebook, people's statuses have become sound bites of how people either want to appear or how they are and then they show that to the world.  I never really considered the concept of this very much and was a huge status updater for a very long time but have really curbed that now and am much happier because of it for some reason.  There needs to be some mystery in life I guess.

But back to our attitudes and why people choose different ones.  I know for me personally, I try to start each day with a positive outlook, it isn't always a choice, it just is the way I feel.  Sometimes throughout the day things happen that may not be as positive and may effect that but I try to make my initial perspective a positive one.  I don't have any major issues in my life right now and I am sure that helps but I still choose my attitude.  I truly feel as well that the right foods and exercise play a huge role in my mental state and my mood.  I want to be happy, I want to see the good around me.  I am not this way 100% but I try, I really do (even if I don't always succeed!).

What makes other people choose the opposite a lot of the time?  There are so many different reasons and I can't even or don't want to speculate, it could be so many things.  I guess in saying all this I wish for people who are perpetually negative or feel when they wake up that is just going to be another tough or crappy day, well what if you thought a different way?  What if you thought, yes today is going to be tough, I am going to face this kind of challenge, I am going to face it all head on and try to make the most of it.  I literally just saw a commercial with a man who is running a marathon on prosthetic legs...what if he woke up and thought, I don't even have legs, what do I have left to live for?  He has obviously made a choice to make the most of his short time here on earth.  Life could be so much more difficult even though some days you couldn't imagine it to be worse.

I don't know, I just feel that our time here on earth is so short and we really should try to make the most of it.

Again, none of this applies to every single day in life because that isn't realistic but facing each day head on should be a priority!

I would wish that for everyone!

On a lighter note...two yummy things I have found!
Blue menu muffin mix...pineapple, carrot and bran....12 large muffins, 3 points a muffin, very high in fibre!

Also, Skinny Cow Cookies and Cream ice cream sandwiches, 4 points and SO WORTH IT!!!

Thanks for stopping by and here's to wishing you a fantastic tomorrow!!

Until next time...xx