Every time I hear somebody ask what they’re going to “do” with something, I think of this clever dialogue between Arthur Siegel (a lawyer) and Mark Forman (a columnist), characters the in the Nora Ephron movie (one of my favorites) based on her book, Heartburn .

Arthur: “What can I say? I’ve always been terrible with colors. It comes from having grown up with the single-row box of crayons, instead of the big box. If I had had the big box, I would now know taupe and cerise and ecru. Instead, all I know is burnt sienna.”

Mark: “I think there’s a column in this.”

Arthur: “Oh, God. Forman, every time I say something, it ends up in your column.”

Mark: “You can have it if you want it.”

Arthur: “It’s mine. I said it. I get to say, “You can have it if you want it”, not you.

Mark: “Well, do you want it or not?”

Arthur: “Yes.”

Mark: “Well, what’re you gonna do with it? Write it up in some law review?

At which point Arthur’s wife Julie pipes up and states the obvious:

“HE DOESN’T HAVE TO DO ANYTHING WITH IT.”

And neither do you. Or I, for that matter. No matter what your “it” is.

But there was a time that wasn’t obvious to me at all.

I’d been conditioned to believe that if others didn’t understand what I was doing with what I’d been given it meant I was doing it wrong.

Or that I wasn’t doing anything with my gifts, experiences, knowledge, insights, talents, and all other individual wizardry not otherwise specified, if it wasn’t being utilized in a concrete manner others could clearly see and comprehend.

You know, the usual manner:

Outward appearances.

• where you work and your title
• what you wear
• what you drive
• where you live
• and all the other blahblahblah factors incorporated into an outward appearance assessment judgement

We hear unenlightened talk of someone having a something or other that they aren’t doing anything with or wasting their time and talents on:

• a college degree in a field other than the one they’re employed in
• a skillset that appears useless to others
• self-education and research in areas that make no sense to others because there’s no future in it (that one is especially laughable because who could possibly know for sure what has a future and what your role may be in it?)
• etc…etc…fill in your own blank here _________________________________________________

Nothing you have within or knowledge you’ve acquired- formally or otherwise- goes to waste. Ever.

And just as this was laid on my heart a while back to share with a dear friend, I’m told to share it now as it applies to all of us:

The gifts (spiritual wizardry 🙂 ) you have inherently within you has always been there. It IS there, it’s BEEN there, it’s STAYING there.

And the gifts, knowledge, experiences, education, etc… you’ve acquired on your life journey all have a reason to be there as well, regardless of whether you or others can comprehend the whys of it.

You don’t need to wonder or justify to others what you’re going to do with it because you’re already doing it.

You already are and always have been, whether you realized it or not.

Each experience has been a stepping stone toward an endless array of eventual stepping stones awaiting your approach and execution.

Your job is to show up and be fully present in each moment with an open mind and an open-hearted willingness to do whatever work the day commands.

That work is ever changing, as are you.

Listen. Let it unfold. It’s already in motion.

No knowledge of crayon colors required. 😉