post by: Ava Reiss
I was walking through a national park once under a hot afternoon sun. Before I knew it, I was ahead of my family. (for those of you who don’t know me as well, I tend to be a speed walker without even realizing it)
There was a lilting voice calling out from a chestnut vendor around a bend. I went ahead to visit her and to sit and wait. I ended up speaking with her for a good twenty minutes or so as the rest of my people meandered along.
The elderly woman was wise. I could tell because when she spoke, she imparted advice without making it seem like she was lecturing. It was a conversational flow as if I were her equal and I was free to choose to listen to her words or completely disregard them. I on the other hand felt the need to impress her with my youthful, “yeah I know’s” and “I’ve done that’s.”
I cannot remember most of the conversation, but something that she said really stuck with me.
“A human being is many things and most of those things cannot be seen or understood without minutes, hours, years, if at all. It is not our duty to show and tell to the world all that we are, because not all of us is for others to comprehend. A lot is for ourselves to be happy with who we are. I have no doubt you are a young lady with many talents. One day you will see that you do not have to prove yourself to anyone else but you. You need only to present the talents at a time when they are needed. It is prudent to keep most of yourself hidden. Sometimes, when you burn too brightly, not only do you burn out, but you will burn others around you too.”
That was the gist of it. As you can see, that day remains with me.
In other words, keep your “final form” until the right moment.
This is not a sponsored post. Tune in September 17th for our next post, by Ticana Zhu.
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