Whatever your abilities, consider sharing them with others. You will enrich your life and theirs by sharing what comes naturally to you. Read on to learn more in this personal article.

Many people have natural gifts whether it is scholastic skills like math or language, or life skills like cooking or organizing. Other skills we learn and hone over the years, picking up bits of information here and there until we reach a point where we feel comfortable and competent at that task such as driving a car.

For those of us who have abilities that fall outside of the “normal” range, life can be challenging, especially when we are children. As a child, I personally had no idea what to do with the skills I seemed to possess, and nor did my family. My sibling and I are both adopted from different blood lines, and yet, he too has abilities that overwhelmed my family growing up. I remember being perhaps 6 or 7 and waking up to my brother screaming and begging to mother to “ask them to leave me alone!” My mother brushed it off as a dream, but it wasn’t. As an adult my brother chose to ignore his many abilities and I had done the same for many years as I had no idea what to do with my gifts.

One of my gifts that I have is a very strong intuitive ability which helps me to “know” people upon meeting them. That is not to say that I can read their mind, but I can read their energy.  As a child I was often overwhelmed by the energy people put out and would hide during family parties to escape the onslaught of energy and emotions from people.  As an adult I learned to shield myself to protect myself from unwanted energy and I learned that I could also read the energy in photographs.  In the beginning it was a parlour trick of sorts for me. I used to look at real estate listings and see what came up for me regarding the property. My husband wasn’t so thrilled with my ability when I would point out that a particular house was haunted by at least one spirit!

In the past I used my ability to read photographs through a service I offered called intuitive photo reading.  It was a way for me to use that particular ability in a positive manner to help people, and really that is what life is all about. If you have a particular gift, make use of it and share it. Are you a natural teacher, dancer, or artist? Do you find organizing or planning events easy and enjoyable?  Have you reached a point in your life where something is missing but you just don’t know what it is? Consider sharing your gifts with someone else. Volunteer, start a business, help a friend or neighbour. What may seem easy to you can be very difficult for someone else. They will be so grateful to you, not only for your natural gift, but also for your gift of sharing.

Today I was thinking about appearances, and how our physical presentation tends to hold so much meaning and importance in our society. In the world at large, there is a standard for beauty, strength, mental ability, and social status that changes based on appearances. It isn’t just Human nature though, even in the animal kingdom, those that are different are often not accepted with good reason. An animal that is born either a different colour or size is often seen a threat to the safety of the group. An of example of this are Zebra which have their distinctive pattern because it causes confusion to predators when they are running in a herd, as the moving patterns make it hard to distinguish one zebra from another. If a “golden” or “albino” zebra is part of that herd, then it can easily be spotted and attacked, posing a risk for the rest of the herd.

It makes me wonder if humans carry the same fear of standing out. Is it in our own genetic structure the need to blend it lest we be attacked? What about those who chose not to blend in? Sometimes they are applauded and given congratulations for being “brave” and true to themselves like a Paralympic athlete who has achieved gold.  There are other traits that are not accepted as easily, like piercings or tattoos, but even that has become so much more accepted. I guess I am thinking about this lately because I am facing my own dilemma regarding not blending in. Well, truth be told, I have never been easy to hide! At almost 6 feet tall,  I have always stood out.

 My recent musings have been around whether I should let my own greying hair win the battle over chemical colour? I've had grey hair since I was 16. Back then it was a fashionable Rogue from X-Men streak that made me feel special and unique. These days, the grey is definitely taking over!  Now, I am at a different place in my life with regards to the comfort level I feel with myself. I was surprised and saddened when I asked friends what they thought about me just letting it all be natural?  Many of them instantly responded with fear and confusion. Why, they asked me would I do that? I would look "old" I was told by some, and one even mentioned that she had no life partner yet so she most certainly could not let her grey show! 
I find the whole topic fascinating, especially with regards to women and how we view our grey hairs. Men who are grey are seen as wise and distinguished, and yet women call themselves old.  I find it very sad that women in particular are not only hard on each other; but they are so hard on themselves.

As it turns out I was not able to remove the entire old colour from my hair, so I decided to go a different route and colour my hair purple instead. I am sure that will probably illicit further commentary about not blending in as well, and for me that is okay. I prefer to be that crazy albino zebra taking chances and living my life, rather than worrying about going along with the herd. Sometimes, you just have to embrace who you are despite what others may say. Tall, short, fat, thin, grey hair, fun coloured hair, piercings, tattoos, and so on.  Remember that you have the power to transform your life in whatever way you need to, and that includes loving yourself, for you who are and how you like to look.