Moving into a new apartment is always exciting. I have always wanted to create a space not only bearable to live in but admirable. In order to do so, I had to take on the task of decorating the place. Out of my laziness and disinterest of the "crafty" process, I really never took the time to ever purchase a toolbox. Instead I decided to cut corners and buy a sturdy screw driver that, if needed, I can also use as a hammer, a measuring tap (don’t ask), and a level (ya I know).
Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love decorating but I hate the hassle of measuring, leveling, and pounding nails in the wall. That's probably why my walls look horrible with a thousand nail holes and torn dry wall (I tapped a mirror up once, yep trial and error is my style). That’s not all though, that sturdy screw driver is now in a very bad shape. Its end is now hallow because I pounded with it so much that I tore it. My walls have marks, black heavy marks...why? because a screw driver isn’t a measuring tape. And finally my pictures have to be adjusted once in a while (and taped) due to crookedness.
I pulled out that screw driver the other day and took a long look at it. I bullied it into tasks it was never meant for and at the moment I felt really sorry for it. Then it got me thinking about people (call it an epiphany if you will). How people try to be something or acquire a skill that they are not meant for simply out of expectations or societal pressure. Everyone has a talent and they have the right to nurture and display that talent.
That screw driver taught me something, I bullied it into "talents" it wasn't meant for. I kept pounding with it and scratching it till it tore and finally broke. It became a useless tool because I used it for the wrong reasons. And to top it all off, I even had the nerve to criticize it for not pounding that nail in right or making my pictures look crooked.
Same thing for humans, forcing people to acquire a talent they are not meant for can tear them apart and finally break their spirit. We are not meant to be part of a cookie-cutter theme. Your background doesn't necessarily determine your talents. The difference between the screw driver and human? Well, you can always replace the screw driver but the human spirit once broken can take a LONG process to heal and sometimes it never does.
I'll end with this favorite quote of mine by Albert Einstein, “Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.”
Oh and I did finally buy a toolbox and use it skillfully now :P
Till next time....
