Talent

I went to a concert in the Sheldonian in Oxford last night. I didn't know any of the Music, but am a fan of Mozart. We were in the cheap seats, no legroom, bench seats, the knees of people behind in your back... But the music transcended the pain. 

I watched the orchestra & marvelled at the skill of playing an instrument, reading the music, following the conductor, keeping pace with the singers & eachother - supreme multi tasking. Then there was the sound of a mass choir. I think there are about 150 of them. It is transporting. You feel the music in your whole body. A live performance is nothing like listening to a CD. You, the audience, are involved. 

It made me reflect on the talents, skills & capacities of human beings. Every form of human endeavour requires not just talent, but practice, determination, application. Those people didn't get to be there without a combination of talent & effort. Together they produced something sublime. 

The same is true of any field of endeavour, sport for example. Even learning skills like driving & cooking. In order to maximise the talent you have been born with you have to apply yourself, often for a very long time. You have to be prepared to practice. 

Not everyone can play an instrument or sing, but I do believe that we all have something special we are good at. Some of us build on that & hone it to excellence. Some allow it to lay dormant & do nothing to improve it. 

If  there had not been individuals who recognise what they have & work at it we would not have the wonderful music of the Mozarts & Haydens. We would not have the scientists who change the world. Or the entrpreneurs who set up companies. 

Society needs everyone to maximise the talent they have for the benefit of humanity as a whole. Even if the individual contribution is small, it is important. Everyone has value, we all just need to do what we can. Even if we fail, we should try.