Talent Auction

It is amazing the different talents people have. Each person is so unique with their abilities. My sister can play the song "The Rose" on the piano, right hand doing the chords, the melody being played by her nose. "The Rose" with her nose, that's pretty amazing if I do say so myself.

When we think of talents often we think of things that we have created. Dishcloths that we knit, aprons we sew, paintings we paint, chairs we build and so much more. These talents are great and amazing, but, they are not the only ones. Some people have a talent of just being able to relax and stay calm. Some people have the talent at being able to clean up messes that kids make (I'm thinking bodily ones but don't want to go into too much detail, you know what I mean). Some people are talented at discovering the community in which they live and all the cool niche things to do. Others are good at smelling out good deals. These are talents that people don't often think about.

Last week the ladies at my church had a talent auction. It had to be something that people could take home that night so it made us think outside the box. While a lot of items were things that we created, there were some that were outside the box. Some one brought a relaxation kit, with tips/things that could be used to relax. Another person brought their favourite bodywash that helped their skin feel great. Some one brought books that they liked to read. Some of the more traditional talents were knitted dishcloths, homemade jam, caramel-chocolate covered apples, paintings, plants from people's garden, homemade bread, a homemade library bag. It was neat to see what people were interested in.

This is what I brought

Talent auctions are a great way to share your talent without seeming too boastful. When we have talents we should be using them to help others. This auction did that. Some people make great bread, some don't, the talent auction gave people a chance to figure out who was good at a talent they wanted help with and at a later date perhaps ask that person for help in developing that talent.

Getting ready for the auction I was able to start to develop new talents of my own. I made the label using an online photo editor . I had done a little bit with the editor before, mostly putting on the watermark on my latest blog photos, but I am nowhere near a pro. But, it was fun figuring it out and I look forward to playing around with it more. I was also able to give people my blog url. Once again, I am nowhere near a pro blogger, but it is something I am enjoying doing, finding my voice and finding out what I want to say.

We did not use money to buy with. At the beginning of the event each person was given a questionnaire to fill out. The questionnaire had yes or no questions and points associated with them. After you answered all the questions you tallied up your points and that is what you had to work with. You could do something similar for your own auction or you could always make it a fundraising event for a charity if you wanted to use real money.

It doesn't have to be a church group who does this. You could get your friends or neighbours together and have a talent auction. It is exciting to get a chance to get others better and see what they like doing and are proud of. It is fun to share and it is fun to be inspired.

What talents would you take to a talent auction? What new talents are you beginning to develop?