Honor Your Gift!

(This post has a whole lot of random thoughts. Just Warning You!!)

I have been thinking a lot about vision, purpose, gift, (Whatever you want to call it.) and I really believe that every person has a purpose for being on this planet.

So, last night I was watching Whitney Houston's interview with Oprah Winfrey, and they talked about her voice and her purpose, and my mind started racing.

I thought about if Whitney's purpose on this earth was to use her voice to bring other people joy. If her voice was her gift, I wonder did she know that, and if she did know that, then why would she abuse her gift? And if she did not know that her voice was her gift, maybe that is why she abused it. (I hope that you are following me.)

So, I started thinking about the idea that if people do not discover their gift, then the world would be missing something. Maybe the world would compensate in other ways for a person not discovering their purpose, but it still would be missing something.

Let's take Zora Neale Neale Hurston and her books. I really believe that one of her purposes for being on this earth was to write great books, and not just any books but books that told women stories, African American stories etc, and I wonder what would the literary world be like if she had not honored the gift that God gave her....(Trying to image the world without Their Eyes Were Watching God, Seraph on the Swanee, Dust Tracks on a Road.)  The world would be just fine maybe, but it would be missing something.

This morning when I got to school, I asked the students if they believed that everyone has a purpose for being on this earth, and they all agreed that they think that we do. So, I gave them the challenge of finding their purpose or gift and to be conscious not to abuse it and not allow anyone else to abuse it. We talked about what the world will be like if they do not discover their passion and live it.

In my mind, I went a step further and thought about what the world would be like if Michelle Obama had not honored the calling of challenging people to be healthier, if my mom had not honored the calling to make beautiful clothing, if I had not honored the calling of supporting people in living their best lives through literature, if Frederick Douglass had not honored the calling to be an abolitionist, what will the world be like if you do not find out why you are here, and honor that?

We had an incredible Black History program today, and I was thinking about the kids and their purposes. They were on the stage singing, dancing, playing instruments, reciting poetry etc. They were all contributing to a Black History Program that almost had me doing one of those ugly cries. And, as I was watching them, I was really hoping that they all knew that they are gifts and that they have gifts, and I really hope that they honor their gifts.

I'm just thinking.............................................

Picture of Booker T. Washington. I am so happy that he honored his purpose
of leadingTuskegee Institute so that Tuskegee could produce me, The
Commodores, Tom Joyner and many others.