The Gift

A Story of Personal Empowerment

It is said that the goal of life is to find our way to the top of the mountain.  From our vantage point at the base of the mountain we can see there are many paths leading up the mountain, some well-travelled and some seemingly more obscure.

Occasionally an event happens on one of these paths up the mountain.  There will be an observable event, a flash or flare which quickly appears and then disappears again.  Everyone assumes it is an indicator of something special, but no one seems to know what that “something special” really is.

But there are always stories, many stories.  There are the stories of some who went up the mountain and were never seen or heard from again.  What happened to them?  Did they fall and get killed?  Was there some wild animal or devil who devours wayward travelers?  Is there some evil force on the mountain that makes them disappear?  Are they still there, living as hermits on the mountain somewhere?

There are other stories of those who reached the top of the mountain and then quietly came down the other side and are now living quiet lives, seeking no attention.  Some say they have met and talked to such people who seem unremarkable but who are somehow unforgettable.

And then there are the most popular stories which seem to be everywhere.  These are stories of people who went up the mountain and came back down to acknowledge that they were one of those who experienced the flash which was seen by those on the bottom.  They are very willing, in fact often very insistent, to tell their story.  It is a story of finding what they describe as their gift.

The story goes like this.  They began their trek up the mountain, much like anyone else, and persisted day after day moving ever upward.  Then, one day they came across a black stone in the path they were following.  For who knows what reason, they bent over and picked up that stone.  As that stone met the warmth of their hand, it suddenly emitted a great flash.  To the great surprise of the climber, that stone had been transformed into a diamond.

Awestruck about this great good fortune, the climber promptly put the diamond in a safe place in his backpack and began a hurried descent down the mountain to share his good fortune with those who he had left on the bottom of the mountain.

Once on the bottom, he began to show everyone the diamond, which now seemed not quite as dazzling as it had originally been.  And everyone wanted to know his story, so he wrote a book, detailing his exact route and exactly where the rock appeared and exactly what it looked like.

That book became a best-seller, and he became rich and was in great demand as a speaker telling others how they, too, could find their gifts.  He could be their guide to fulfillment.

And, as you might guess, there were those who followed that same path up the mountain, sometimes whole groups of people, and, when they found what appeared to be the black rocks picked them up with great excitement only to find that nothing happened.  There was no spark, no great light, nothing.

It was explained and most believed it, that they were not of appropriate spiritual character to be ready for their gifts.  And they were left disappointed and demoralized, to decide how they might improve their spiritual character to become worthy.

Nevertheless, the books continued to sell, the talks remained in great demand, and the original path up the mountain began to be very well traveled.

But there were also other tales about what those trips up the mountain were really intended for.  In those tales, it was not about finding diamonds, but it was about finding your unique gift and the transformation that can occur when that gift is accepted and integrated.

Those tales also tell about what happens after the gift is discovered and received.  Those tales say that what is intended after the gift is received is that the trek up the mountain is to continues, only now with a very different mindset.  In that changed mindset, it becomes clear that the rest of the climb and the attainment of the summit is about beginning to really understand that gift and discovering how to use it in the world.

At the summit when the meaning of the gift is integrated, a great peacefulness settles on the person. For some it becomes clear that they should remain at the summit and simply live with their gift as a model for others.  For others, they realize that they must now descend the other side of the mountain, away from the sight of others, and, at the bottom it will become clear how to live their lives without great fanfare, humbly and simply as an example for others who might notice.

They do not tell the story of their trek up the mountain, the discovery of their transformative gift, the clarification after reaching the summit, their trip back down or their decision to live as they now do.

The final message of these humble knowers is that each person must find his own trail up the mountain, and only then will he discover somewhere along the way, often when least expected, some ordinary thing which, when picked up, will be transformed into their gift.  It may even be a totally unexpected gift, or perhaps a gift they did not want or would rather reject.  Some may be afraid of the responsibility the gift might require of them, and still others may feel they are not worthy and put the gift away, unopened.  It is, nonetheless, their gift and they must continue the trip up the mountain to understand how they are to use that gift in service of an integrated world.

Those who rush down the mountain as soon as they find their gift will never really understand that gift or really benefit from its true value, since they got bewitched by its flash and stopped growing there. In fact, they will very likely do more harm than good, often discouraging others, suggesting that there is a recipe or a prescribed path to follow rather than doing the individual work of finding their own way.

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Each of us has a gift.  As we were uniquely created, we were each given a gift and part of our job in this life is to find that gift and put it to use serving the web of life that fosters us.

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