Wednesday, July 31, 2024

Talent/No Talent...


Ha. Another concept/idea we throw around often that is actually kind of nebulous. "Born vs. made." Hmmm. And actually, you know, maybe irrelevant?

Some folks are just incredibly, remarkably great at certain things. Think Fred Astaire, Michael Jordan, Mozart, Bob Dylan, Miles Davis, William Shakespeare, Beyonce, Yo Yo Ma, Barack Obama, Patti Smith, John Coltrane, Andy Warhol, Meryl Streep, Howling Wolf, Herman Melville, Ginger Rodgers, Richard Pryor, Paul McCartney, Leonardo Da Vinci, Daniel Day-Lewis, Jimi Hendrix,  Willie Mays,  Alice Coltrane, John Lennon, Stevie Wonder, Vincent Van Gogh, Allen Ginsberg, Simone Biles, Otis Redding, Albert Einstein. How did they get to be so good at the things they did and do?  Really, it is a bit of a mystery. And that's supremely OK.

I suppose I am in the camp that believes that everyone has talent, everyone is creative, everyone has the capacity to be good at something. How that is discovered, cultivated, rewarded, encouraged and employed is subject to a million and more variables.

A friend of mine tried to lay the talent label on my head.  And I absolutely refused to accept it. I am a gnarly-sod just built like that. My response, which actually works as my credo:

"You know, the main thing, talent/no talent. I fell in love with creating, writing, playing, singing, collaborating, and just doing what I love to do, as often as I can. You know, I mean, whatever, Damn the Torpedoes!"