Dear Friends and Colleagues,
I am writing to you from our cabin at Shoal Lake, part of Lake
of the Woods near Kenora, Ontario. I hear the children splashing
in the cool waters that mirror a clear blue sky. Patches of the
lake shimmer through the swaying branches of the birch trees
outside my window. I am overcome with a sense of gratitude for
these weeks of respite that we take each year in early August. My
wish for each of you is the opportunity to experience your own
version of solitude in order to replenish the summer soul!
One of the wonderful rewards of publishing this newsletter is
that the theme of the upcoming issue ruminates in my mind and
heart for the weeks leading up to its writing – it is a way of
putting an intentional lens on the eyes through which I perceive.
And with this issue’s theme of “Uncovering Our Gifts”, I found
myself observing others differently throughout this past month and
have come to rethink the whole notion of genius – what it is, who
has it and in what contexts. In that spirit, allow me to regale a
particularly delightful experience with a genius in the guise of a
waitress:
I was sitting at one of the outside tables of “99 Bottles of
Beer”, a bar/restaurant in the town where I live, when Sandra came
to take my order. She recognized the photograph on the back of the
book in my lap as me and gasped in surprise, “Wow, you wrote that
book!? How cool. I’d love to write a book, except that I don’t
write. In fact, I never even finished high school.” I commented
that I was sure that she had her own gifts, regardless of whether
or not she had a high school diploma. With a wide grin and light
in her eyes she responded, “I’ll tell you what – I have been
working at this restaurant for ten years. I bet I have a hundred
customers who when they walk in, I order their particular beer
before they’ve even had a chance be seated. With over 99 different
types of beer, no one can believe that I can remember the brand of
their liking, but once they order it, I never forget it! Call it a
mystery, call it magic – that’s my gift!” I just smiled at her and
responded, “Sandra, I call that genius.”
The truth, of course, is that genius is magic – the kind that
is conjured up when you bring to any context the appropriate
blending of native talent, personal qualities and temperament that
sets your spirit and those around you alight! Sure – Sandra’s
ability to take orders, serve food and drink, and tally the check
all lend to her success as a waitress. But it is her sheer
enthusiasm and glee with which she recalls the brand of beer for
each customer who walks in the door that has brought her alive in
the job and made the job come alive in her. We have seen it a
thousand times, but rarely recognize it as genius. Like Patch
Adams, the pediatrician who applied medicine of the soul by making
children laugh, every time we enter a context that utilizes our
skills as well as the gifts of our person, we make it more… we add
new breath to the soul of the world.
We were all born with the potential for genius – in fact it is
impossible for anyone to be born without that potential! It is
clearly possible (and sadly common) for people to live without
realizing their genius, but perhaps that is partly because we
don’t live with the expectation of it. We tend to think of genius
as having extraordinary inborn capacities which are bestowed on a
select few. Conversely, I believe in my heart of hearts what
Buckminster Fuller once said – “Everyone is a genius, in the right
context!” In fact, that precept became a basic pillar of my work
as a job developer, counselor and curriculum developer. Truly, the
greatest job we have as employment professionals is to assist
others to find the context for their unique brand of genius.
Naturally, we have to find for ourselves first!
While reading “Discover Your Genius” by Michael Gelb (this
month’s selection in the Book Review below) I came to an important
realization. As he wrote about ten of history’s most celebrated
geniuses, I took note on the personal qualities that, in the end,
brought each to accomplish what they did. Among that list were: a
compelling vision, contagious optimism, tremendous courage, a
fiery purpose, insatiable curiosity, independent thinking, and an
indomitable spirit. Not everyone encompassed all of these, but
each of them combined their native talents with at least one of
these qualities, without which they would have accomplished
little. What struck me was that talent, while important, was not
necessarily the most significant ingredient in the cocktail we
call “genius”. It was the personal qualities that each person
brought forth in the particular circumstances (or context) that
produced the final magic! It was Plato’s love of wisdom,
Columbus’s enduring vision, Thomas J efferson’s commitment to
freedom, Darwin’s unfailing confidence, and Gandhi’s strength of
spirit that made each of these men extraordinary.
And if that is true, that qualities of spirit (like courage,
confidence, optimism and determination) have as much to do with
genius as anything else, we should be encouraged, as these
personal qualities are always available to us. The question is
“What inspires these qualities?” In thinking about it for myself,
I believe that native talent inspires my confidence, my dreams and
desires bring with them a compelling vision, and my deepest
purposes carry my courage and determination. I think we all know
the truth - you don’t need to have extraordinary talent when you
have that extra dose of enthusiasm, desire, passion or purpose
about something! Regardless of our portion of talent, I think the
question is, “What is it we can do with extraordinary patience,
love or enthusiasm?” Perhaps that is where are truest and greatest
gifts lie.
Given this current understanding, here is the formula I would
suggest for Cultivating Personal Genius:
Nurturing Your Nature (your natural talents, skills and
abilities – what you can do)
+ Listening to Your Heart (your dreams, hopes, vision and
desires – what you want to do)
+ Following Your Path (your deepest purposes and calling – what
you feel you must do)
+ Creating Opportunity (responding to the world and to your
current circumstances – what is available and possible)
= PERSONAL GENIUS
In that spirit, I am going to devote four future issues of this
newsletter to each of the categories listed above and include a
hearty list of questions and suggestions for uncovering a person’s
gifts in each of these areas. For as a river flows along the path
of least resistance to arrive unerringly and inevitably to the
sea, living in concert with our innermost gifts in each of these
areas may carry us just as assuredly to the waters of our deepest
joy – the context for our own personal genius.
I invite you, dear readers, to wear the lens of rethinking the
concept of genius for the next month and see if you do not
recognize it in places you have never seen it before – perhaps
even in the reflection in the mirror.
Namaste,
Denise
P.S. (While I had intended to order a glass of chardonnay that
evening at “99 Bottle of Beer”, I tried a pale ale just to try
Sandra’s gifts – I can hardly wait to return and have her work her
magic on me!)
About Denise...
