being smart ..

So my almost 9 year old son was talking to me this morning about kids who are smart in his class.  This one's smart at math, this one's smart at reading, and so on and so on.  Not once did he mention himself and where his skills lie.  This didn't surprise me, number one, because he's very honest- yet crazy humble and he's comfortable in that little hidden land of his, and number two because he doesn't always see his talents as being on par with these academic pursuits.

So I asked him, "what are you smart at?"  He shrugged his shoulders and thought for a moment while he was drawing another one of his masterpieces (I don't use this word lightly, the kid has talent) and said "I'm good at drawing, but that's not smart."
                                                                                                            image © held by AnnMarie Gitchell, 2012

This of course made me want to blog.  Not only is my son "smart," dare I say gifted in the realm of drawing and creating- he's also incredibly smart at being a human being.  He knows when to compliment someone, he knows when someone needs a hug and gives it freely even when the other person is pitching a fit, he knows how to be hilarious without even trying, he knows when to help someone and when to give them space, he controls his emotions when he needs to and expresses himself at just the right moment, he allows others to comfort him and he knows how to show love in everything he does.

To me, my son is brilliant, a genius at being an artist and being a member of the human race.  He gets things most adults I know can't or don't try to understand, yet he doesn't feel that he is "smart."

Here's my next wish- I wish to change this.  I wish to help create an environment in academia and in our community at large that encourages and acknowledges all types of  "smart."                                                               

I earned every possible honor and accolade in my education from grade school to grad school- but I am not nearly as smart as my son.  I'm pretty sure that's why God sent him to me.






                                                                                                                                                                                         

greatness

image © held by AnnMarie Gitchell, 2012 

Abraham Lincoln said something similar: "Whatever you are, be a good one."  

I often can get hung up on searching for that "one thing" that I feel I am missing.  You've maybe even read about my quest on this blog.  It's just around the corner, this ridiculously noble calling or purpose that the universe appears to be holding ransom from me.  

Truth is, by doing this, I realize that I am missing out on key opportunities for greatness.  Yeah, that's right- by searching for greatness, I'm missing out on greatness- now you can see why I've been so confused and maybe a little lost.  

Yes- there are many images from history books and in the media, that portray "great people."  You may even know some.  But, I'm slowly (painstakingly so) coming to realize that these people are not any greater than I am or you are.  Most of us, out of necessity, are  driven by the work-a-day needs of ourselves or our families and friends, but that doesn't make us any less great.  It's not the calling that makes us great, it's how we pursue it, that unleashes the greatness that's inside each and everyone of us.  

What Oliver and Abe (that's right, first name basis) are filling us in on is that greatness is not externally handed to us, and neither is it restricted to a special few.  We all have it within us to be great.  Doing whatever we do to the best of our abilities, makes us great- no matter what it is!  

“Nothing is more simple than greatness; indeed, to be simple is to be great.”
-Ralph Waldo Emerson

Your work is to discover your world and then with all your heart give yourself to it.  

-Buddha

west of the moon, east of the sun

 

image © held by AnnMarie Gitchell, 2012