When I was younger, I found this really old guitar. It was virtually impossible to tune the thing and I didn't know how to play it, but I was determined to learn no matter what. After months of building callouses and muscles in my fingers, I finally was able to play a few tunes. The guitar had an awful sound and would never stay in tune. It was annoying. But I learned.
My parents knew about my tendency to move from one thing to the next - without sticking to it. They had given me piano lessons early on - and that was a dismal failure. One of my many problems is that I've always been interested in a million things. When I was younger, I had ADHD when it came to hobbies.
But they watched me with this old crusty guitar and saw that I was actually sticking with it. So, on my 17th birthday, they bought me my first real guitar. It was amazing, especially compared to my other piece of crap that I'd learned to play on. I kept playing and getting better. It was a discipline that didn't seem difficult.
I remember hearing this Michael Penn song around that time and thinking, "If I can ever play that song, I'm done."
Well, years have passed, and the song was learned. Looking back, that was a good gift - one of the best that I've been given. I didn't take it for granted. I used the gift - it wasn't wasted.
And yet, there are other gifts that end up in the garage before they're opened. Gifts that are in boxes in the garage. Unused heaps of nothings. Waste.
I've been given the gift of time. Time to work on life things. Health. Direction. Life. Goals.
I just don't want to waste it. I don't want to throw this gift in the garage and forget about it. Not live it. I don't want this to be a wasted gift. Yet I know my tendency...
I've definitely wasted a lot of good gifts in my past...
Jer
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