Cooking Isn't Your Special Talent!

Out of nowhere today, my friend Clayton asked me a very simple question while chatting on MSN: What is my special talent? Although the question appeared very simple, providing an answer was much more difficult than I thought. Then I realized, I have never been asked this question by a friend before.

For a few minutes, I sat in contemplation while staring at my computer screen. I wondered to myself, why he would interupt our conversation about digital camcorders to ask such an off-topic question?

To answer this question, I had to stop everything to ask myself two questions to find my answer. Why am I friends with Clayton? What do I bother him for the most about when i need to bother him? He replied, "hmm...never thought that."

In my response, I joked to him that cooking was definately not his special talent. I felt that his special talent was his ability to teach and share his life experiences with others. Since knowing Clayton, he's always been one of the few friends who I would call when I need to make a difficult decision in life.

He replied, "Serious?" I told him that I looked up to him as if I had an older brother who was 10 yrs ahead in life. He is definately someone who you don't feel stupid when you share your thoughts or feelings. I think my response may have caught him off guard as he probably expected me not to take his question seriously.

I was reminded tonight that everyone has some sort of a special talent in life. Unfortunately, many will never realize this as we often take our friendships for granted while forgetting to recognize how they have positively impacted our lives.