"Be soft. Do not let the world make you hard. Do not let the pain make you hate. Do not let the bitterness steal your sweetness. Take pride that even though the rest of the world may disagree, you still believe it to be a beautiful place."
-- Unknown
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Wednesday, November 12, 2008

I want to be like Keith Richards...

Okay, I don't want to be JUST like Keith Richards. I don't want to fall out of trees or swagger around talking nonsense. You'll have to keep reading to find out what I mean!

So, I know I've been a slacker with the whole posting thing lately. Sorry. I don't know what's gotten into me. I always have good intentions and then I sit down to blog and NOTHING comes out.

In fact, I've been so idea-less that I searched for writing prompts to get the brain waves moving.

One of my favorite blogs I've found with daily prompts is One Minute Writer. The idea is to pick a topic and jot your thoughts down in less than a minute, but you KNOW I don't follow rules. And a lot of these topics can be expanded on. You can't possibly say enough in a minute! (Well, maybe you could, but I'm a bit talkative and I tend to ramble, so there's no way I could keep anything limited to 60 seconds!) See, I bet this paragraph took longer than that, and I haven't even gotten to the topic yet!!

After looking through days and days of prompts, I finally found one that appealed to my mood today:

"If you could have one talent that you don't naturally have, what would it be?"

Well, since I really don't have any natural talents, I guess this prompt is pretty limitless.

See, unlike my oldest little brother, who can pick up ANY ball and instantaneously be a master of that sport; who sings and taught himself how to play the guitar AND drums... and unlike my youngest brother who has developed a unique talent for art (you should see one of the paintings he did at school this year!) and received his black belt when he was 8... I can do next to nothing.

I mean, I'm an excellent movie watcher and book reader, but those aren't talents. I'm decent in the kitchen, but not good enough to be labeled "culinarily gifted." I'm great at watching sports, but unfortunately don't have an athletic bone in my body.

So what talent to I pine over? Which one would I really, really love to have?

Definitely the musically inclined thing.

I am a music fanatic. Inside, I feel like I should be a rock star. Really. But I absolutely CANNOT sing. At all. Ever. It's almost painful to listen to. I wish I could. I would pick up a guitar (which I have no clue how to play) and write song after song. It would be great. Of course, the world would love me, I'd become famous, give money to charities and retire to some island. Then I'd sit on the beach and play my guitar until my fingers were so old and arthritic that it was no longer possible.

I'd be like George Jones, who's still singing even though he's voice is all warbly and shaky sounding. Or like the Rolling Stones who just REFUSE to go away, even though they're my grandparents' age. (Before long, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards will be on stage with walkers.)

But really, more than anything, I'd just like to be able to sing the hymns at church without wondering if the people around me are cringing at all of the notes I'm missing.

11 comments:

Diane said...

Oh, we're alike. So alike. I, however, don't want to be like Keith Richards. Keith Richards gives me the heebie jeebies. And if you were like Keith Richards, I wouldn't want to be your roommate (especially if you looked like him. Ick. But if your bank account looked like his and I could hit you up for a 'loan' every now and then... well, that'd be a different story). Anyway, so you know, what you do here IS a talent. You put words down in a way that makes me (and others!) want to keep coming back to read more. And I suspect you have other talents you are simply not acknowledging here... in fact, I'm sure of it!!

Anonymous said...

You do have a talent, Heather. Its called COMPASSION. Not everyone has that gift, but you do in abundance. You are one of the most compassionate people I know and it will define you as a person throughout your life. Just keep sharin' the love . . .

Melanie Gillispie said...

Wait just a second here: movie watching and book reading aren't talents? P'shaw! Plus, read what you've written lately? Talent all ober de place!

Jen L. said...

Girl. You SO have talent. Have you read your writing? Do you see what you do for a living? Have you been shopping with yourself!?!?!?
Let's take guitar lessons. Dean is still small enough that we can force him to listen to us. It's like having a captive audience. Think about it!:)

hebba said...

Take guitar lessons! Its super fun!

Anonymous said...

I think your talent is fairly obvious, it's what you went to college to hone. It's what you now get paid to do - write. And a.jayme is right. You are a compassionate person. You have the ability to carry on a conversation with just about anyone which is something alot of kids seem to be lacking, little bro included.

M

Jessica said...

Talentless?? I think not. Writing you are superb at. And watching movies and reading I would say are too talents. If you say I'm wrong that would mean I'm talentless so just agree ok? Not everyone enjoys reading and reading is a great thing to do so there ~ Talent. Some people have ADD and can't sit through a movie ~ Talent.
I too have no musically inclined talents altough I've always wished I did. I would play the piano and sing though. Also, I would love to be able to paint.
Clearly I am also unable to leave short comments. I have the same problem of rambling and talking too much. I'll stop here.

Anonymous said...

Sweetie,
We had this discussion the other night. You have talents that you do not realize. Your writing skills are a wonderful gift. I'm still waiting for you to start your first novel. Athletic ability is only good for a few years. You are blessed with a loving, compassionate heart, a quick wit, and a wonderful gift of "gab". You will always excel at anything you put your mind and effort into. Every skill and gift requires time and effort to sharpen. Decide which "talent" you want and then develop it. Believe me, your little brother's singing was not easy to listen to when he decided to start his music endevour.

Anonymous said...

Girl, your talent is writing. You are the most entertaining writers I know. I can't wait to read what you post to your blog. Any invest in SingStar for Playstaion (or whatever game station you have) and you can be your own superstar at home. Just ask Uncle Trey. We play SingStar all the time. Even Blaize is hooked. Next year he'll be the only 5K that know all the hits from the 80's. ;-)
Keep writing.

Auntie E

Anonymous said...

You have a great talent of spending my money! - Grumpy

Anonymous said...

Your starting to get better at playing the guitar and your talented at being my sister.
LB