REFLECTIONS : HIDDEN TALENTS
A busload of eager seniors in rollators and wheelchairs , thankful that they were asymptomatic and in tip top shape for the sign-up trip to see a play and have dinner , set out with high spirits . This was a very special production : the leading character of the play to be seen was one of their devoted caretakers turned thespian .
No one was disappointed ! This actor performed to the applause of the general paying audience . All marveled at the excellence of his portrayal of the themes dealing with friendship , divorce , suicidal thoughts and conscience . Still , he could make us laugh !
Lesson learned ? Never underestimate the hidden talents around you , wherever you are . This quiet person it turns out , also makes caricatures when invited and heads a family involved in education . Best of all , he makes the people he cares for feel respected – he does not treat us as a burden to society - when he serves our needs .
In a society that cherishes personal privacy and space , we can miss out on the endearing qualities that others possess . A person who can recite poems with feeling as though he wrote them ? A young boy that entertains his friends in an orphanage by playing tricks and making figures with rubber bands on his fingers ? A colleague who
by TERESITA BACANI-OROPILLA , MD
can describe the excavated ruins including the positions of people of the buried city of Pompeii ? The one who entertains with pictures of the aurora borealis or the night markets of Europe ?
Do you happen to know that your bird lover friend can tell a bird from its song or its name from its size or color ? What about a singer who can belt out songs of soldiers in the Civil War ? “ Just before the battle , mother , I am thinking most of you ” ( prepare to cry when you hear that ). Then there is always that one who sings the same song (“ My Way ”) ad infinitum …
Have you met the comic who can flap his arms in the chicken dance , or the lady who can dance the romantic tango or line up in the conga line ? Know the lady who paints angels on small stones and gives them away ? These are all talents great and small , and more are out there , unrevealed .
One must have the curiosity and the personal confidence of friendship or kinship to scratch the surface and see what makes them tick . They might make you tick too !
Best of all are those who just love or are kind to each other and show it . This , for no reason at all except that we share the trials and miseries of this earth , but also the joys and the triumphs of this life .
Do you recognize your talent , great or small , or those of others ? Want to share it ?
Dr . Bacani-Oropilla is a retired pediatrician and psychiatrist . June 2022 27