Contributing Ones Gifts

In thinking back to class on Tuesday, I thought of contribution as a concept. In doing so, I found, as I expected, that there are many sub-concepts. Many of the other one-worded concepts we came up with fit the role of these sub-concepts. In contributing ones gifts to the community, an individual person feels a sense of responsibility and belonging.

If each individual realizes that, although they are one person, they have a part of the greater body just as a single piece of thread has a part in a tapestry or a drop of paint in the greatest works of Van Gogh. Each individual has his own potential that only he himself can achieve and therefore only he can contribute that which he has to the community of which he lives. Yes, there are people that have similar talents and abilities to contribute, but personalities combined with talents make each person a necessity. There is a great analogy to be made between choirs and this concept of contributing ones gifts. In a choir, we all have a voice part that many others share in singing the same notes and phrases as us, but we have our individual voice, our individual tone, and our individual musicianship skills. If a person chooses not to participate in the music making, the choir is not necessarily in a disastrous state, but the full potential of the choir cannot be achieved without what that person’s contribution.

Once each individual understands this concept that they are truly important, a person can then understand if he chooses not to contribute his time and talents, then the community is at a loss and cannot reach its full potential. This brings to a person a sense of responsibility to not deprive the community of which he is a part. After there is responsibility put into place, a person undoubtedly will feel a sense of belonging.

I am most fascinated with the fact that the concept of contributing ones gifts also allows for a person and the community to focus on the positives of that person. If a person feels that it is the “good part” of then that allow them to feel a sense of belonging, that person will have a desire to do even more good. It is important to know that everyone has a weakness, no matter who they are. If a society continues to focus on the “fixing” of that which is broken, it has the focus of the whole community on the negatives. There will almost always be a negative aspect to every situation. A storm can make the homeless shout because he is sick and wet just as it can make a man shout that his satellite dish is not working. I truly think that our society will not ever think we have reached a state of peace and happiness until we change our perspective; that realize that all individuals and communities have negatives and positives. It is the positive perspective of which we look at it that can have an impact on the feeling of a community.