“Hide not your talents. They for use were made. What’s a sundial in the shade?” ~ Benjamin Franklin
How successful have you been at employing your talents in relation to your friends, family, associates and beyond? No matter what you have or haven’t done in your life, what you’ve completed or left undone, you still have your tomorrows.
Some people spend their lives regretting days gone by, while others constantly relive the past, as if the present and the future had no chance of delivering fulfillment. When you awaken each day, do you specifically and deliberately incline your body, mind and heart to the current of victory? Do you say to your world: “I shall be a blessing today”? Do you rise with the intent to shine, or do you grope your way into the daylight with a heavy heart, cloudy mind and a sluggish body?
Life is too short to spend even a moment in self-pity, hatred, complaint, despair, anger or vengeance. Every moment you waste is not just a moment lost, in fact, it is a moment lost, plus another lost in opportunity cost, followed, no doubt by two or three moments spent trying to make up for lose time. So, every moment you waste is not one, but four or five. And that’s a conservative estimate.
No one has control over the quality of your expression or the degree to which you utilize your talents, but you. If you give and do your best, making full use of the talents at your disposal, you will have no need to bemoan your circumstances or blame others for any shortcomings in circumstance you might encounter. Others may let you down on occasion and you might occasionally be dealt a bad hand, but to whine about it is pointless.
The intrepid soul embraces trials and tribulation with the same enthusiasm and effortless flair as he meets the easier moments in life. He declares “I can” when others less willing to put themselves out there say “I’d try, but I’m afraid.” He insists “We shall overcome” when the future looks grim, the options are slim or the outlook is dim. He makes himself available to all the power in the universe by offering an untroubled heart, a mind conscious of right and a body poised for action.
If you feel your yesterdays could have been better, that you could have done better, relaxed more deeply, given more freely of your talents, be sure to use the energy that would otherwise be spent in the generation of meaningless regrets about the past as fuel for a more brilliant, dynamic, balanced and targeted expression of your talents in relation to your tomorrows.
Gregory Hake 
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Great post! I was led here by using Franklin’s quote myself today –
I’m in agreement that we must use our talents –
Thank you and bravo!
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Thank you, Shawna. Have a great week!
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Wonderful posting… I didn’t want it to end, I was so captivated by the renewing spirit of it. But what a great start from this moment forward! Thank you!!
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Franklin’s quote really sums it up! It really is a waste to wallow in the past or be overly concerned about the future. The only place we can do anything is right now – it’s the fulcrum of our lives and the place of power, inspiration, direction… everything!
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Some civilizations see time as a river, with each person standing backwards in the current looking towards the past. It makes sense because you can see your past and not your future, but the analogy is obviously incomplete. We at least have a sense of what is coming in the future. We don’t know everyting that is coming, but using the river analogy, there is one way to prepare for it. If we shift our focus from down the river to the water that is hitting the backs of our legs, we can enjoy what is coming to us now, and set ourselves up the best we can for the unexpected that is coming down the line.
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It seems to me that the past should be used to learn from, not to constantly sink down to. The beautiful thing about experiences (the past) is that they have already happened! We each have the choice of how we handle the elements contained in this moment in time, and we need to take full responsibility for the ripple effect of our choices. And our choices as life goes on should be better and better because of what our experiences have taught us. There is nothing sadder than to view a person who never grew from their experiences but instead basically gave up on participating in the beauty of life.
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Wow a call to live each moment like it’s the only one you have…because it is.
If your’re in the under 60 bracket check out those in the over 60 group. They seem to divide very generally between those who are still living, creating and part of the flow of life. The other half seems to be decaying daily or planning how to handle their inevitable decline. Talk to either group and they’ll tell you life is too short not to live each moment to it’s fullest. They’ll also say friends are more valuable then venting, always having to have every one hear your point or getting it off your chest. Life is neutral, our choices make it worthwhile or wasted.
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