The Talent of Balance

We have been talking a lot about talents around here. Noticing little gifts that we're good at have made it easier to build self esteem when there is always so much to be worked on.

The great news is that we all have talents. Some birds are excellent singers while others really know how to shake a tail feather. There are comedians who can't leave you with a straight face. Some animals have strength while others show intelligence beyond their years. There are those who live independent and others who are always surrounded by loved ones.

What may be considered a weakness can also be a strength, and, likewise, what serves as a strength must be nurtured to prevent us falling weak to it.

Tiger, for example, does not care what others think- there is great freedom in that and we all wish we could wear our swimming suit, snow boots, head phones topped off with a cowboy hat and walk into church declaring that we are the sheriff.

Rhino has the ability to live simply. He simply does not realize he should shower without being told, simply will not eat foods outside his favorites and simply obeys regardless of what he is asked to do (except eat healthy foods). He loves to draw and has an excellent memory... I just wish he would remember to shower before getting dressed.

Monkey has spirit and determination. This usually lands her in the time- to- think-chair as we try and harness her lioness power and keep her from eating rhinos, tigers and puppies but it has also saved her life more than once. She knows what she wants and is not afraid to fight for it- even if it takes all night.

Puppy is afraid of everything. I take full responsibility as I too carry a flashlight when I walk to the bathroom either for needed light or protection. We are both working on replacing our fear with faith. In the meantime we use our caution to keep Rhino from over eating, Tiger from running away and Monkey from joining the gypsies. She is afraid of not having Tiger to play with or Monkey being upset. She is more afraid of losing friends and respect than she is of her own wants and desires. And even though she should be in bed, boy can she dance.

Mr. Zookeeper has no concept of time. This is good in that he doesn't care when I'm late but then, he doesn't notice if he's late either... we'll leave that one alone. Mr. Zookeeper is one of the kindest people I know. He can talk to anyone about anything. Though he may not be quick to defend himself that same power makes him very quick to forgive... I know this first hand but we'll leave that one alone too.

Me? I am extremely talented (what? It's my blog so I can write whatever I want)but the one that sticks out most right now is my ability to beat the odds. I don't believe in failure. No experience is ever wasted if you learn something from it and just because it takes a thousand tries to make a light bulb- you still did it. In my case, it would be five years of potty training a tiger, seven years of therapy feeding a rhino, six years of speech therapy, eight years of near death experiences and well, you've read my blog- you know what kind of crazy stuff goes on around here!

I have two favorite Chinese proverbs:
"The branch that bends with the wind does not break" and
"Do not fear going forward slowly; fear only to stand still."

It's seems like the only thing that moves quickly around here is meal time and messes- those are continuous events!

Indeed, I don't believe in failure. If one thing doesn't work than we try something else. Of course this gets me into trouble in that I am rarely content to just let things be. (I say this as I am currently remodeling my entire backyard) But, this talent has also served my family well in the many obstacles we've overcome.

We all have talents but the trick is to balance them. We should be careful not to overrun ourselves. Using our ability to think, yet another talent, we can develop our talents and know when to use them and when to restrain.

That said, Puppy asked me why Tiger likes sitting on the table playing with Legos. I replied that God gave him the talent to focus intently on one thing and because he keeps working at it, he's getting really good at building things. She seemed to agree and then opened a new can of worms,

"So, like because he keeps working on being naughty he's getting really good at that too?"

Like I said, balance in all things...