“The older I get, the more I feel the obligation to share the gifts I’ve been blessed with.”
                 – Paraphrased quote from LeAnn Rimes at a recent concert in Morristown, NJ.

That statement has stuck with me. She used the word obligation. I had to think about that. “An obligation is an act or course of action to which a person is morally or legally bound.” (Oxford English Dictionary).

Obviously, Ms. Rimes is not legally bound to share her incredible talent with the world, but morally? I would guess that most of us would agree that she does have a certain obligation to share her talent with us. After all, she has an absolutely amazing voice, not to mention her songwriting and acting talents.

Frankly, I’m glad she feels a duty to share. My world, for one, would be a darker place without hearing her beautiful voice.

But what about the rest of us? I certainly don’t have a voice like LeAnn Rimes. In fact, I’ve often wondered what my “talent” really is.

And that’s the trap, isn’t it? We may not have an overwhelming singular talent or group of talents. We compare ourselves to the “true” talents in the world, the singers, artists, writers, athletes, actors, investors, etc. whom the media idolizes and conclude that we don’t have talent. Or not an important talent anyway.

That’s a dangerous lie.

We all have talents. Maybe we haven’t developed them. Maybe we’ve dismissed them. Maybe we haven’t discovered yet what they are. And they probably aren’t on the scale that LeAnn Rimes’ are.

But you have them. I have them. And even if we’re not sharing them on a national or international scale, there is some way that we can share them that will benefit someone in our community.

The problem is that it’s often scary to share our talents. We’re afraid of being told we’re not talented, we’re not good enough, or, worse, being made fun of. So, we hide them. We use them in private. Maybe. Or maybe we don’t use them at all.

Yet, what are you missing by not sharing them? Do you sometimes feel that tug at your heart that you could be using your talents better? That there’s a reason you have a particular knack for whatever? Maybe a pang of guilt from time to time? Or a longing to express yourself in a different way?

I know that’s why I started writing novels. I had this inner urge to try, to write. It was scary putting my first book out there. Honestly, it’s just as scary with the second and third one, too. What if people laugh at me? What if they think what I write is stupid? Or vapid? Or unrealistic? Or … You know. All the stories we tell ourselves.

The reality is that some people might say those things. I have no control over how my writing lands with anyone. But what about the person with whom it does resonate? What about the person who takes heart from my writing? Is inspired? Is uplifted? Maybe does something different?

And there’s the secret. Stop thinking that your talent has to change the world. Maybe it only changes one person. Or maybe it only changes you.

But stop hiding your talent under a basket. We need it. You need it. Embrace the obligation. Share.

After all, it only takes a tiny pebble to start a ripple.