Gift and Purpose (#408) 09-08-13

If this title sounds a bit heavy, that’s because it is. The below TED talk is a VERY inspirational account of how a blind, severely autistic boy (Derek Paravicini) and acquired almost unbelievable musical skills. This required the patient nurturing of a nanny, and musical tutoring by a piano teacher, Adam Ockelford. The story is moving, and Derek’s music is sensational. I hope that you’ll take the ~16 minutes to experience the story.

See it HERE.

What a gift Derek has, and what a gift he has given the world. So, this leads to the following quote by Pablo Picasso:

“The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away.”

So poignant. It is easy to see the gift that Derek has given us. But what about his teacher, Adam? Imagine the difficulty in mentoring an autistic man. How easily Derek’s talents could have gone unexperienced without Adam’s commitment.

There is a takeaway for all of us. When art is produced, it should be shared. Images forever locked onto a hard drive help no one. We should all strive to share them in as many ways as possible.

Bob