Talent

There are several definitions that we can use for this word. Let’s explore.

“A unit of value equal to the value of a talent of gold or silver.”

Uhh…I don’t really feel like talking about money in this entry. Although if anyone cares to know, I prefer gold to silver.

“The natural endowments of a person.”

By this definition, my “talent” is encased in my chest. Let’s find another definition that doesn’t require a bra.

“A special often athletic, creative or artistic aptitude; general intelligence or mental power.”

Ah. Let us linger here. This one is much better. I suppose the question of talent comes up quite often when you’re growing up – oh little Jimmy is so talented at coloring. Little Tommy is so talented at singing the alphabet. Etc Etc. Fantastic, but is that really a talent? Is it possible to grow in and out of talents? I suppose like all things they must be honed and refined with constant effort, but the very definition seems to imply that it’s natural, something that just happens. How do we know if we’re talented? I assume that it’s something obvious to other people. I’m always amazed by the talent of other people around me, and it makes me wonder if everyone has one, or if some of us are doomed to go through life with effort without talent. And is that such a bad thing? I’m trying to decide.

I guess what I’m getting at here is that I’m by no means talented at running. It’s not a talent, I have no great athletic aptitude, it’s not that I’m doing something that other people can’t be doing. It’s a lot of legwork. Hahahaha. But seriously people, I’m not fast, I’m not constant, and I’m not anything but dedicated. Can “being dedicated” be classified as a talent? No, that’s more of a personal character trait.

What’s so fantastic about this is that it means that really anyone can be doing what I’m doing. Whether you’ve never run before or whether you’ve run your whole life, you can reach and surpass what I’ve done. What’s so humbling about this is that you can reach and surpass what I’ve done. I am forced to admit that although I maintain a blog and am vocal about my love for running and physical fitness (yay step classes!), I have very little natural talent, in this area, or in other areas of my life. There’s really no such thing as artificial talent, is there. So I am basically a noisy, loud cesspool of talentless waste in our society. How sad!

But inspiring for you! If a noisy, loud, cesspool of talentless waste can run a marathon…..YOU CAN TOO!!!!!!!!!!!!

(ok I know this was a self-pitying, whiney post….but don’t worry about me. I have my natural endowments to fall back on.)