Your Sacred Gifts

We all have so much to offer. We are all born with sacred gifts and special qualities that are meant to be shared with the world. When we are young, these gifts flow easily and pour out of us. We sing, we dance, we play - we share our talents with anyone and everyone who will listen. And even if they won't - we don't let that stop us. We are simply living our purpose and sharing our gifts.

And then somewhere along the way, we learn to be self conscious about our gifts. We learn that maybe not everyone wants to see, hear, or receive our gifts. We learn that maybe our gifts aren't the best gifts - maybe someone else has better gifts to offer. We learn that maybe our gifts aren't practical gifts - maybe they should be replaced with gifts that are better suited for making it in this world - for succeeding in this world.

And so we bury our gifts deep inside ourselves. And we go about our lives in a conforming way. We do what we think is "right" and what we think is "acceptable." All the while continuing to push our deepest desires further and further down.

And then we become adults with all of the responsibilities that go along with growing up: a real job, a house, bills, kids, etc. And we do all of these things and feel that we are doing a good job - but there is still that calling from deep inside: our sacred gifts want to come out. And maybe they have made little appearances here and there over the years - we paint on the side, we write a little bit every weekend, we sing in the shower, we help our friends with their relationship troubles... but we know deep down that our gifts want to come out so much more. They want to be a priority in our life. They want to be what we devote most of our time to - not an afterthought when we are too tired to act on it anyway.

I was on a phone call yesterday through the Realize Your Vision event sponsored by Inspired Mentors. Monique MacDonald spoke about our sacred gifts and really got me thinking about how important it is for each of us to identify them in our own life.

She said that they are always outwardly focused - what you can give to the world - rather than inwardly focused - what you can give to yourself. And for this reason, she emphasized that if you feel that you don't have your own life together - you can still share your sacred gifts with others.

She also said that you can be really good at something, but that doesn't necessarily make it a sacred gift. The way to tell is to notice whether it feeds you or depletes you. You may be a wonderful bookkeeper in your business. You are efficient and have learned the software and are now an expert at accounting. But every time you think about doing your books, you immediately feel drained. This is not a sacred gift. A sacred gift will always energize you.

She has an entire audio program on this subject, where she talks about each sacred gift and helps you determine if you have it or not.

Think back to when you were young - what gifts did you like to share with others?
Do you still share those same gifts now?
If not, why?
Was it because of something that happened that led you away from it or was it because you changed and no longer see this as something you want to give?

When I was young I used to sing. A lot. I was very shy, but once I got to know someone, instead of talking and blabbering, I would make up songs that kept going and going. I would sing about how happy I was that we all loved each other. I would sing about what a lovely color the sky was. I would look around the room and sing about every object that I noticed. I can imagine now how this would've been cute at first and then could get annoying after awhile. Thankfully, my family members and friends humored me and listened. And I loved it.

I continued to be confident in my singing through elementary school and entered a singing contest in sixth grade. And while I received a blue ribbon, the only thing I noticed was a mark on the page that said I needed to project my voice more. I was devastated. But I pulled myself up and tried out for a mixed choir the next year. Again, the teacher said the same thing.

So I stopped singing in public.
My sacred gift was muted. It was something that I loved sharing, and this joy inside of me was turned off.

I am just now learning to sing again in front of others. It's been a slow process, but it's one that I am determined to work through.

I'm sure we all can think of ways our own sacred gifts have been muted in some way.
Maybe you were a painter who was told that you would never make a living doing something so frivolous.
Maybe you were a writer who was told to be a reporter instead of a fiction writer because it was a more secure way to make a living.

If we take a look at our sacred gifts and remember what they are, then we can start bringing them back.

And if you have had your sacred gifts with you all along, pat yourself on the back! It takes a lot of courage and inner wisdom to hold tight to your gifts, even when you are told to focus on something else.

Our sacred gifts are meant to be shared. It's our birthright to share them with the world. :)