#A to Z Challenge: U is for ... Unique U!

Today's 'heart things, heart strings' theme for the letter U in the A to Z challenge is Unique U (or Unique You), as in you being unique and true to your unique, individual self! ;)

Consider this: there is NOT one single person on Earth out of more than 7 billion people(!) who is exactly like you! WOW! Isn't that stupendous?!

What does that feel like? Have you ever pondered that? Does that not make you feel like a star? ;)

YOU are as 'special' and unique as a star in a vast star-filled sky. There is NO ONE, absolutely no one like you at all in the world.

Clones are not exact replicas of human beings. Neither for that matter are identical twins.

"The cloning process would never produce an exact copy of the cloned person. Though an individual manufactured by cloning would posses the same genetic sequence as the person whose nucleus was used, other factors also substantially affect the development of an individual. ... non-genetic factors such as nutrition, home environment, education, economic situation, and culture add significantly to the development of personhood. Just as with animals, cloning humans will never produce exact copies."
(Source: http://www.councilforresponsiblegenetics.org/viewpage.aspx?pageId=106)

"Baa Baa Black Sheep" photo by me representing the first cloned sheep

"There is some misunderstanding about what constitutes a clone. A human clone would be the genetic identical twin, a generation or more younger, of the donor (not the surrogate mother) who provided the nucleus. But because people are more than a product of their genes, a clone would have its own personality, character, intelligence, and talents exactly as identical twins do (who are natural clones stemming from the same egg). You cannot clone a person's brain or mind, and chance factors, the environment, and a person's experiences contribute to individual traits." (Source: http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0193005.html)

Thus, you are here for a reason. You are meant to be here. But you already know that, right?

So tell me then, do you know your divine purpose or mission in life? Are you aware of your God-given gifts or talents? And how will you share them with the world from your heart, with all your heart?

Cyndi Lauper, a 1980's pop singer sang True Colors [American spelling] with words as in the picture to the right: "I see your true colors, and that's why I love you..."

What are YOUR true colours? [Canadian spelling] What makes YOU unique?

Gems in Disguise

Photo of an emerald by Wimon Manorotkul

You – and I – we are gems: rare, precious, prized, and valuable. We glimmer and shine with brilliant and bright tones of royalty - emerald green, ruby red, sapphire blue - and are each unique - oval, round, rectangular, heart, pear, or marquise-shaped (like our personality), not to mention faceted and unfaceted (the latter analagous to whether we hone our shinyness. (I prefer my own spelling as 'shininess' doesn't look or feel right to me!).

Real gems have "inclusions" which are internal characteristics such as fractures, growth lines (!), spots, specks, and the like. Think of them as 'extras.' Aren't we as human beings similar? We have our fractures, spots and specks, and possibly growth lines as well that make us a one-of-a-kind 'gem.'

Depending who you are and how you see yourself, you may or may not think of yourself as such, but consider this: we are like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, or a tapestry or quilt. We all are a part of the fabric of life. I think of a spider web as I write this as each silk thread is valuable in that it contributes to holding up the entire web.

Similarly, no person is more important than another. Each person is valuable as we contribute to society's intricate web in our own unique ways.

A perfect example of our preciousness and contribution, a work colleague came to visit last week with her recent family addition: a relatively brand-spanking new, baby girl. She is the epitome of a sweet and precious gem, a prize(d) collection!

Both mother and daughter add value to each other's lives in myriad ways, in addition to the partner and father (respectively). Can you now imagine a cross-section of woven threads?

Yes, that's me holding the baby gem (with permission from the mother of course!).

How are you a gem: what qualities, intrinsic and/or extrinsic, can you bring forth to light up the world?

A Matter of Degrees

When people look at my business card or on the internet to see what my experience is, they won’t find a degree designation on my business card or if they google my name on the internet. I don’t have one nor do I want one! (More about that in another post!)

Besides, who says a person has to have a degree to be successful in life? Who says that a person with a B.A. or an M.A. is better - more experienced? - than a person with no degree at all? What about life’s experiences? Does that count? Does that matter?

My mother is a good example of this. She is a wise person or ‘soul’ (and I rarely use that word so you can imagine the respect I have for it), highly intuitive (and an extreme empath), immensely practical, and very creative. She is wonderfully knowledgeable as well, not in an educational sense (having completed grade 7 at most), but in relation to having a multitude of unique and enriching life’s experiences. Moreover or perhaps because of all this, she can easily associate and work with all kinds of people as she relates at their level, wherever they’re at!

As a senior, my mother had to relate to many men as she learned about my brother’s camping trailer business. She became an expert at trailer parts, knowing about their details, inside and out (I couldn’t even imagine)! When I saw her one day in the office years ago and a man entered the store asking for help, I realized immediately what my Mom’s role and purpose was!

Speaking about role and purpose, I believe that my co-creative children’s choir is a part of my journey. How many people with a B.A. or M.A. or even a Ph.D. can say that they know what their purpose in life is? And, by the way, I’m not speaking about a universal life purpose that everyone has and shares. I’m talking about an individual’s life purpose or mission.

Despite that, I consider myself having a B.A. in life. I say this because of various life’s experiences I’ve had. (I would say an M.A. if I was or had been married and a Ph.D. if I had kids, but that’s only my philosophy.)

I’m feeling a burning passion as I write all this. People who question, and rightfully so, my background or expertise when they remark, for instance, that I only have a ‘certificate’ but not a degree. In that case, refer to my previous postings and bio please!... and thanks!).

If people understand where I truly am coming from and know what I know, they would likely be less judgmental and instead be supportive, understanding, and appreciative of my efforts.

I find these people exist few and far in between, though more likely in the spiritual community where I thrive and flourish. In the so-called ‘normal’ – what’s that?! - everyday world, I rarely find it. There are only a very few people who ‘know’ me and ‘get me’ at a deep level. These people also happen to believe in me.

One person who ‘gets me’ is my current best (female) friend (as people often go in and out of my life). She is also a unique, rare human being. Sometimes it takes one to know one! ; )

Interestingly enough, the other person who ‘knows’ me happens to be a vision therapist! (He now calls himself a vision educator.) It was through the use of iridology to examine my eyes that he got to see who I truly was. He expressed to me the discovery of the beauty and rare gem that I am. I say this humbly because, long story short, I always need to re-discover that.

Many people - both male and female - have told me that I have beautiful blue eyes. They do say that the eyes are the windows of the soul. ; )

And I know myself, my soul enough to know that I have a kind and good and gentle heart, one in which I strive to be honest and authentic in my dealings with others. And a degree of any kind, on any matter, won’t tell you any of that! It also won’t tell you that I know I can direct a children’s choir and that I have already done this to some degree (pardon the pun).