A Blessing or a Curse?

Been thinking lately about giftedness.

Been struggling with what to do with Daniel and long-term schooling.

Wondering if I push him too hard to be more than he is.

Wondering if I just see his potential and fear his not arriving at that potential later on because the educational system in this country does not meet or exceed my standards, nor does it service the students the way it should.

Wondering if the reason I'm "sensitive" or that I "overreact" to things is because I, too, am "gifted" and grew up just understanding that I was "different." Not bad, just more... in tune to emotions... more in tune with what others feel and think... more curious at "the meaning of it all."

The reason I wonder is because of this article.
http://www.sengifted.org/articles_social/Lind_OverexcitabilityAndTheGifted.shtml

A new friend, a woman named Laura, that I met while I was traveling this week gave me this article, and it opened up a whole new world of understanding about my husband, my child, and my teenage years.

I remember talking to a friend in high school, saying, "You know, I just feel like I've never fit in.  I have never felt rejected or pushed away or bullied or anything like that.  I just... feel like I have always been in a different place."

And she said, "That's because you are."

"Huh?"

"My last two thoughts were, Did I remember a sports bra for practice? and I'm hungry.  I wonder if I have 50 cents to go get a bag of Cheetos.  What were your last two thoughts?

"Huh.  Well, I was just wondering if I was prioritizing my life properly because I seem to spend too much time on my homework and when I look back on my life I will want to remember the great times I spent with my friends in high school, as opposed to spending so much time with my nose in a book.  Because I think it will always come back to relationships being more important than the amount I study.  And really, the whole point of life is people."

"See."

"What do you mean, 'See.'?"

"I mean, I'm thinking about Cheetos, and you're wondering about the meaning of life."

"Oh."

This conversation comes to mind because I have been trying to figure out why Daniel doesn't seem normal to me.  Could it be that he wants to line everything up perfectly?  Make perfect circles with the chocolate chips when he's helping me bake?  Because he's teaching himself to read at age 3? Because he can see a word printed once the day before and I come downstairs to find it written all over a piece of paper?

And when Laura explained overexcitabilities caused by giftedness, Daniel made so much more sense.

And it makes me wonder about all of these beautiful things God gifts us with and that they come as blessings and curses.

The person who can intensely see and experience a sunset and translate that into a painting or poem or song or video or sculpture with ease conversely can't handle experiencing too much visual input.

A cook with the ability to distinguish the intricacies of flavor is also prone to overeating just to experience the flavors he/she loves to explore so much.

A person so smart and capable of thinking and thinking about thinking lives to think about things, but when there is no new input, no new thinking challenge, no problem to solve, he becomes depressed because his brain is bored...

Anyway, just what I've been thinking about.  Reminds me of Spiderman.  "With great power comes great responsibility."  So true, so true.