The Gift

Each of us is born with the same gift, well not exactly the same. Some are given more, some less, but in essence it is the same gift. I don't think that I recognized this until a few years ago.

When you realize your gift it can be a bit unnerving because you see it is without a doubt finite and you don't know how much of it is left. You begin to realize how much of it you have wasted and you wonder how much of it remains. Even though the gift is finite the ways to measure it are infinite.

Now I'm quite sure that everyone has a different reaction when they come to recognize the gift and I can only speak to mine. The realization it seems came in the form of a fork in the road so to speak. I had to choose which path to travel. One was smooth and comfortable much like a freshly paved highway. There were no bumps, no unexpected turns. It was clearly marked and easy to travel. The other was rough and full of bumps and ruts like a dirt path through a country meadow it was not on any map and I had no idea where it would lead. This was when I realized what the gift was that we are all born with and that I had to decide how to spend the rest of mine.

I'm not sure if I made the right decision or not but I chose the path through the country meadow...the travel has been difficult so far but when I look behind me I start to notice that I have been leaving footprints and this somehow gives me peace. Perhaps one day my children will recognize this path and it will somehow help them.

One thing is certain. I feel good about how I am spending the remainder of my gift. Although the path I have chosen is sometimes hard, the beauty I have discovered along the way makes the uncertainty worth while.

How much remains of my gift? Who knows? tic toc...tic toc...tic toc...