convinced?

 I've found the hardest person to convince is yourself. At least that has been my experience so far in life. It's proven true even when I have decided on some course of action. Now some would confuse that with a lack of confidence, but I don't feel that way at all. I have all the confidence in the world, I just seem to lose interest rather quickly. Then I want to move on to something else. I've never convinced myself that I have any particular talent for any one thing. I think that is why people have hobbies, do crafts, or whatever you wish to call that. It is because they are convinced, they have a talent for that. They do not require any validation, they are convinced.

 I do think I have skills. I am a sort of jack of all trades. Trades meaning occupations. I do not think of myself as particularly skilled in any one of them. As far as the arts, I am sorely lacking in that area. To be truly skilled in any one area I believe you have to be born with that ability. You can take as many lessons as you like but you will never be Eric Clapton or Vincent Van Gogh. Those skills are innate to those people. You can learn skills, but you can't learn talent. Talent isn't taught.

 It's been said that everyone has a talent. I've heard that many times over the years. I've heard it from those offering encouragement, and from those offering kindness. You know what I mean? Hey this isn't your thing, but everyone has a talent for something. You just have to discover what that is. My thinking however is a bit different, I think you just have to convince yourself of that talent. It's the only way I can understand why some people act as they do. You know the type, those that sing karaoke or dance believing they are really good but leave you cringing. There are plenty of other examples, sometimes with craftsmen. Not all mechanics and carpenters are skilled! Still, they believe they are, they have convinced themselves. That is the essence of vanity. Humility is the exact opposite of that. The concept of humility is what I feel is lacking in society today. I believe the true meaning of humility is being lost. The dictionary will say humility is a lack of self-regard or a sense of unworthiness and that is what many grasp today. But humility is an essential ingredient to the spiritual man. It is placing oneself in the proper order of things. Without humility a person will soon become angry, disappointed, depressed and disillusioned. You can see all of that in society today. Too many people believing they are the most important thing in the universe. Too many people feeling entitled. Too many people saying, look at me, look at me, me too. 

 There is also the danger of becoming too vain in your beliefs. Yes, we can see that today as well. How many mega-churches are there? Each of those is a display of vanity, certainly nothing humble about them. Throughout history there have been examples of that taking place. Perhaps the most famous being the Spanish Inquisition. It was a tool to consolidate the power of the king while fighting heresy! You will believe, even if I have to kill you! It isn't heresy, but political beliefs that are faced with that today. And that changes depending upon who is in power. 

 I often call it accepting reality. That's how I speak of this in my blogs. My thinking is if you accept reality, you will be humbled. It isn't something you need to work on, nothing to concentrate on, it will come naturally. If you have ever been on the ocean during a storm, you have been humbled! If you have ever read or listened to the stories of others, you have been humbled. "Humility is the solid foundation of all virtues" (Confucius) Being humble isn't simply acquiescence, that isn't what it is. It is accepting reality.