We are all here for a purpose. These are words of great controversy that draw the ire and disdain of all who read, hear, or see them. Any time it is said that we are here for a purpose, ears are perked, eyebrows are raised, and fingers are pointed. There are so many theories about why we are here that almost nobody can agree on a grand, superseding reason for our existence, but cutting through all of the doubt and animosity, there is at least one commonality upon which everyone should be able to agree…that we are here to discover and refine our talents.

Essentiality of Uniqueness
Talents are unique abilities possessed by everyone in which an aptitude for success can be found. We are all different, with varying and distinguishable capacities for achievement that make us each valuable, and even irreplaceable in the world. Our natural born physical and mental qualities merge with happenstance experiences, chosen beliefs, and evolving attitudes to make us specifically suited to distinct individual talents. We are all here for a reason, and it is our talents along with their defining characteristics that help us to identify why we are here and how we specifically are important to the world, and more importantly, how we can be of value to others.

Temporal and Spiritual Connotations
Our talents are our greatest tools for coming to terms with our purposes in life. It is impossible, short of a divine manifestation, to come to agreement in every country and culture about the existence of a higher power and divine purpose, but our talents connect us to life in ways that give us direction that is difficult to deny. Our talents are the closest undeniable manifestations of purpose in our lives that we can express to others without offense or reason for doubt. Our talents are our connections to humanity, and they are reasons for us to evaluate the source of their unique powers. While we may never convince everyone of how our talents relate to purposes beyond what they can see, we all discover through personal experiences what they mean to us in temporal and spiritual terms. We can all enjoy the talents we share among each other together, but it is to each of us personally to determine the source from which they are derived. Whether we believe that our talents are granted to us from powers greater than our own, or simply the culmination of beneficial coincidences, it is up to each of us to identify our talents and to develop them in ways that improve our personal and collective lives.

Discovering Talents
Talents give us direction and motivation in life, because they are activities that we do well. As we journey through life, we discover tasks that we enjoy or dislike. Interactions of childhood play, studies at school, sports, and a variety of experiences in young life expose us to new opportunities in activities that reveal our aptitude. Discovering our talents requires us to be willing to try new things, to engage ourselves with curiosity and intrigue, and to have a desire to learn. Some talents come easily, while others must be attained through discipline, applied effort, and tenacity.

Not every talent is a prodigious, instantaneous demonstration of success, but rather many must be nurtured through practice. What is always necessary in discovering talents, however, is opportunity which is found in the exposure to new endeavors, and the inquisitiveness necessary to pursue activities of interest. Many of us may find that we are best in a single facet of life which we come to perceive as our talent and purpose, but we should never lose sight of the possibility of discovering additional talents as we engage in new and untested experiences. While it is desirable to develop our talents to their fullest, we should always be open to new discoveries and potential talents that can enhance our lives and benefit others. At times we can be so engaged in discovering a purpose in our lives that we fail to see that what we are actually looking for is a plurality of purposes and talents. We should always be willing to try new things and to discover new talents, even when we believe we have found our purpose in life.

Commitment
Merely discovering our talents is never enough to produce the true benefits that can be derived from them. Although some talents appear to come naturally, they must also be practiced and developed with commitment to achieve a fullness of their rewards. We should never take our talents for granted, or assume that they will be available when we need them. To get the most from our talents, we must discipline ourselves to make consistent use of them and to improve and refine them through time. To have a talent is to be truly blessed, but to neglect a talent is to lose sight of purpose and vision. When we discover our talents, however trivial they may seem, we should do all that we can to nurture and develop them to their fullest capacities. Only through dedicated effort and commitment to our talents can we truly realize what they can do for us and for others.

Time for Talents
While we may recognize our talents and be committed to developing them, we are sometimes lured away from them by demands on our time. Sometimes we find that our daily tasks fill much of our agendas, leaving hardly a moment to focus on talents. Time is one of the greatest obstacles that prevents us from developing our known talents and searching for new ones. We must not allow our talents to be nullified by deficits of time in our busy schedules.

Making time for talents is not always easy, but it is a matter of priority. We must learn to arrange our schedules to integrate the search for and development of our talents, even if it means that some of our commitments must be rescheduled or omitted. Our talents are stepping stones in our lives that we stand upon and utilize to find direction in life. To allow our lives to be too busy for talents is to deny the very reasons that we are here, and to deprive others of the benefits of our labors. We must learn to consistently devote time to our talents, however brief and insignificant that time may seem.

Our talents are essential components of life that remain missing, until we discover and refine them. As we discover them, our talents have the potential to deliver great joy to our lives and blessings to the lives of others in ways that we may never have imagined were possible. Our talents are treasures in our lives that we must discover and hold in our hearts with the greatest of care. What will become of our talents is dependent on the effort and devotion that we put forth toward them. Talents are what we make of them. With commitment, our talents can reveal the purposes for which we live, but with neglect our talents can become regrets in time. May we all consider the significance of our talents, and strive to make of them all that we can for ourselves and for others.

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