Did you open your gift box?

We spend our entire lives chasing wealth. However, these rarely bring us or the people we care about long-term happiness. On the other hand, the special gifts that we are blessed with can be the difference between a fulfilling and incomplete life.

The primary gifts we possess are the gift of being benevolent, the acts of being compassionate, caring, and forgiving, and the power of appreciation. Research shows that we are born with an innate moral compass. A 2010 study from the Infant Cognition Center at Yale University clearly demonstrated that infants less than a year old could distinguish good and bad behaviour.

A kindhearted deed to someone in need is worth its weight in gold. A word of appreciation to a child can do wonders for his or her confidence. Forgiving someone who has hurt you badly calls for immense courage and compassion.

This benign gift is far more valuable than all the cell phones, cars, and crystals we receive on our birthdays and anniversaries. A positive act can bring immense joy, change a person’s life, bring people out of despair or create a magical moment. As the Dalai Lama describes this gift wonderfully, "If we can cultivate a concern for others, keeping in mind the oneness of humanity, we can build a more compassionate world."

The second gift is an inherent and unique talent that each of us has. For many, this potential remains undiscovered or submerged by the weight of the expectations of others. This unlucky lot will sadly go into their graves with a lot of music left in them. For a lucky few who tap into this potential and purpose, life becomes significant and blissful.

I was fortunate to have discovered the gift of connecting with people with my speaking skills. Even as a child, I loved to speak and listen to the sound of my own voice. The consequences were serious at my school. I was failed and thrown out, even though I had performed brilliantly in my exams. The chatterbox in me would not quit without a fight. The next victim was Raju, my car driver, who put cotton in his ears. Yet I was able to break the sound barrier and Raju quit his job, unable to listen to my constant prattle. My Dad beat the hell out of me, leaving me looking like a striped zebra in a zoo.

Today, I have channelized the same speaking ability to win an international speech competition and a Guinness World Record for a nonstop lecture on Gandhi for 78 hours. A year back, walking through a forest, I realized there was a poet in me. The result is 75 quotes and 15 poems. These two amazing gifts give me more joy than I could ever dream of. I feel delighted when readers appreciate me for sharing my thoughts and life stories.

Ask yourself whether you have found the gifts you have. Have your positive words of appreciation cheered up a friend through his tough times? Did your random act of kindness bring a smile on the face of a hungry soul? (Animals included because my children believe that they too have souls.)

Is there a hidden musician in you? Is there a hidden environmentalist in you? Is there a writer in you? What is that special gift waiting to be mined and processed? Great minds have always tapped into their inherent gifts. These men and women have been profound examples, inspiring us to walk the extra mile to discover the hidden gem, that hidden gift within us.

It is time to reflect and act on what Marie Curie said: "We must believe that we are gifted for something, and that this thing, at whatever cost, must be attained." All of us are born with some inherent gifts, but most of us don’t open the gift box. The right time to open your gift box was twenty years ago. The next best time to open your gift box is today.