I startled a young black snake: he
flew over the grass and hid his face
under a leaf, the rest of him in plain sight.
Little brother, often I've done the same.
It's Christmas Day and wonder where I shall hide today. In calls to relatives far away? In the festive mid-day meal? In the special treat of a matinee? Today I celebrate gratitude and the gifts of the spirit and the body, while in plain sight, on the front page, on the news, and on the faces around me there are those who cannot hide from hardship. Today I think I shall go searching for a tale I can get a hold of and pull the feelings from my heart so that I might face all that is, and so that I might love all that is.
What tale shall you face today?
The tale I faced today was a familiar one. Having worked in the 60's and 70's to bring gifted education to Florida, I observed and trained teachers of the gifted, bringing out the emotional issues the gifted face daily. When you excel at many things, how do you chose? I listened to a parent sharing the experience of a gifted child trying to chose a college, a possible career path, and majors. Yes, I said majors as most wind up with more than one. When you are wanted by all colleges offering varying financial aid and curriculums, how do you choose? Can you trust your heart? Family members get their opinions heard. How do you disappoint any of them? Yet, with different opinions you are caught disappointing someone or yourself. Often while pursuing more than one interest, the stress of an overloaded schedule can cause unforeseen problems. Often they prepare for equally stressful careers. How many years can one's body live under constant stress? As a society we need their talents. How do we keep them from the path of burn out and destruction? It is in plain sight that they need to nurture their spiritual growth and take time to rejuvenate and take care of themselves before succumbing to others wishes for them. UU's approach to the spiritual being is ideal for gifted people. Being one percent to two percent of the population the one size fits all of any religious dogma doesn't fit them. They are used to being outside of the box, and often feel that they are outsiders...until they discover UU. We need to locate more of these people and let them know that we are here. I don't know quite how. I have observed high schoolers, when a couple hundred from various schools are thrown in a room together with people they don't know, within about ten minutes the three or four gifted students have found each other. I guess we have to search through a couple hundred people to find the two or three who are UU's, but don't know it. Networking narrows it a bit. Most gifted people seek out other gifted people for friends. Yes, I know that we don't discriminate, but it is a fact that many UU's are gifted, are comfortable exploring their own realm of spirituality, and have tried other religions unsuccessfully. We certainly do not want to set up criteria such as MENSA does which leads to an elitist attitude. But, to find those who 'fit' our style it doesn't hurt to hang out where the gifted hang out when they find time in their busy schedules. Many of us spent years trying to hide our giftedness to 'fit in'. I think UU is still at that stage of development. Maybe we need to just admit it, UU appeals to bright people and get the message out to bright people that it is okay to seek spirituality in an individual way, while being part of a supportive community. I didn't plan it, but that is my tale of the day.
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