So, this is a pretty random post, but its about an unusually profound experience (yeah, I didn't have many) I had as a kid.
It's sort of like the thing you might read in a book, so you'll just have to take my word for it that this story is not actually made up.
Basically, when I was about eight or so, I used to do gymnastics (I quit at the age of ten after realising I was, to put it bluntly, quite shit). After our beginners' class was over, I'd go meet my mum in the viewing area and we'd sometimes stay a bit longer, watching the slightly more advanced classes.
Just before one such class was about to start, two girls were practicing.
One was about six years old, and effortlessly swinging round and round a horizontal beam, with exceptional grace and remarkable strength (she was using just her arms). She looked as though she was loving it.
On another beam, a girl of about fourteen was doing the same, and she was just as skilled, but you could see where she had built up muscle in her upper arms over the years, and the concentration etched on her face.
Neither girl missed a beat, and were extremely proficient, but my mother pointed at them and said, "That little girl? She's got a gift. She'll never have to try too hard in gymnastics, and still might go on to be champion in her field. That older girl also has a gift, but its not in gymnastics. She's clearly worked extremely hard to get to the level she is. She may also do well, but she'll have to put in double the effort."
Go ahead and ponder. I just thought I'd share it with you...it was one of the first things that taught me that natural talent and hard work are two very different things, and that you should probably try not to waste a God-given skill.
Not that I necessarily follow ANY of that over a decade later, but yeah.
xx
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