I don’t know about you, but I’m still hearing posigive comments about the local production of My Fair Lady.
Everyone who saw it was just so blown away by the enormous talent of the cast and crew. That’s a fact, but why does everyone seem so surprised? Is talent like that only to be found in big cities?
In case you haven’t noticed, we have boatloads of talent in our little towns.
It may be the case that in a city, you can more easily find an expert to teach you or train with, and training helps bring out and shape the talent that’s waiting inside.
But we have experts in our own communities. Instead of charging $500/hour, many of them volunteer their expertise. Some people still don’t get the fact that a volunteer’s expertise can be worth just as much as a high paid specialist.
I still hear the joyful shout: “You’re an actor! or you’re (fill in your favourte character from My Fair Lady)! After the Sage Sound Singers perform their Christmas concert this Friday, no doubt we’ll be hearing once again how amazing that we have such talent in our small towns and how lucky we are.
We are lucky indeed. We are lucky to be surrounded by all sorts of talented people who share their gifts with us. Open your eyes and they’re right there.
But we tend not to look any deeper than the every day facade of the people we know - the cashier at the store, the guy walking his dog, the neighbour who plays loud music, the girl on the skateboard... We engage in our own version of social profiling and sort everyone into categories based on how we see them.
At our staff christmas party the other nigh I apologized for not having my gifts to them finished, but one co-worker said she was happy and excited to wait because I was one of the few crafty people that she knew. I replied that she might know more crafty people than she thought.
Everyone has a spark of creativity within them. What you may think is amateur, others will see as awesome.
See the creativity around you and you’ll begin to see it in yourself. Set it free for 2016 and make time to nourish your talents. That is my New Years wish to you.
Wendy Coomber is editor of the Ashcroft-Cache Creek Journal