Author Archives: Yvonne Ator

Abundance (Part 3) – The Importance of Sharing your Talents, no matter how “Small”!

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“Your Talent is God’s gift to you. What you do with it is your gift back to God. ” – Leo Buscaglia

For the past several days, the parable of the talents has kept popping up for me. I have never really liked this parable… it haunts me… It makes me feel really uncomfortable…

For those of you who don’t know about it, it is the story of a wealthy man who goes away on a long trip, and before he leaves, he gives his servants talents (a talent is the equivalent of a year’s wages). One servant gets five, the second servant gets two and the third, one. 

The first two servants immediately go and put their talents to use, each yields a doubling of  their talents. The last servant, buries his talent. When the master comes back, each servant comes up and shows him what they have earned. The master praises the first two servants.

 The last servant, comes up with his one talent and tells the master that he knew he was a hard man who harvests where he doesn’t plant (or something like that) and he was afraid so he hid the talent. The master was enraged, took his talent, threw out the servant and gave his talent to the servant with the most talent. 

I really don’t like this parable. It is a great parable.  I just don’t like it for selfish reasons. I am very eclectic and have always felt embarassed about it. People often speak derisively about “Jack of all trades, Master of none…” and this has always stuck with me. I have always wanted to master just one thing. 

Because I am so eclectic, with so many interests, I have found myself hiding, not sharing my talents because I was afraid people would say “Oh, there she goes again… what is she doing now?” “Can’t you just focus on one thing?”

As I shared last week, I began writing as a teenager because I felt compelled to. I wrote poems, songs, essays… but only because I felt I had to … and I filled books but only for my consumption. 

Lately, on my quest for full life integration, I have begun looking at every aspect of my life and the talents I have been given. I realize that my fear of being judged has been keeping me from sharing my talents and inspiring others to share theirs. But since I began this blog, I have been committed to staying in light and letting go of that tendency to hide in the dark. For example, even though I knew nothing about haikus, I began sharing one daily to keep perfectionism at bay and to keep me from taking myself too seriously. Indeed, this blog has been great for keeping me honest and consistent when life get difficult. 

Even though I am a morning person, I often write at night after my kids go to bed. It is important for me to show up and share my heart, even though it frightens me. 

I realize I am not one of those people who have that one thing they are great at. I have decided that  will no longer judge myself for that. Instead, I choose to show up, express myself while pursuing mastery and excellence at the things I love to do, finding ways to combine and integrate them in a way that works for me. 

After resigning residency on January 1, 2009, I hid in shame, unsure of how I was going to move forward. But now, I realize I am exactly where I am supposed to be. A physician coach, facilitator, advocate who uses her medical and public health background to help prevent physician burnout, and help wholehearted burning-out physicians thrive… I get to use my music, poetry, writing, international background, to inspire others  to live their ideals, thrive in their calling and positively impact the world. 

Here’s the thing… don’t expect any abundance if you are not willing to give of what you have… When you share what is uniquely yours, that energy creates a flow… You attract even more abundance… just like the parable!

When you hide your gift, not only do you rob the world, you rob yourself. And your gift doesn’t grow in the dark, it dies… 

Step out into the light. Share your gift… no matter how small, no matter how imperfectly. And you may be surprised by your impact on the world around you. 

Yes, God has given me all these talents for a reason. I don’t want to be like the servant who hides his talent in the ground because of fear. I want to take my talents and share them, however imperfectly, with the world. and inspire others to share theirs. 

This is my gift right back to God!

To learn a little more about what I am up to and support my Thriving physician project, click here www.gofundme.com/thrivingphysician

So, my dear friend, what are you doing with your talents? 


Cultivating Abundance:

1. What talent are you hiding or keeping buried? 

2. What is keeping you from sharing it with the world?

3. Whose talent has been impactful to you?

4. What would your life have been like if that person had chosen to bury their talents?

5. What step can you take towards sharing your talent today?

6. Whom can you enlist to hold you accountable for showing up and sharing your gifts?

7. In what ways have you experienced abundance in your life? 

Your talents are uniquely yours… imprinted by your own DNA…  When you share your gift, you inspire others to share theirs. Choose to show up and allow your heart to be seen. Be courageous. Share it! See you next time! 

Yvonne Whitelaw  writes for Yvonnewhitelaw.com where she blogs about her quest to grow into her ideals in her “Live Your Ideals Project”. By sharing her Daily Haikus and bi-weekly lessons along the way (most Mondays and Thursdays), she hopes to serve and inspire a tribe of wholehearted  humanitarians, visionaries and idealists like you, to “live your ideals, live your calling and change the world.”  

Daily Haiku – #JesusIsRisen #HappyEaster

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#JesusIsRisen #HappyEaster

Jesus died for all

Took our pain and suffering

So we can be free.

#yvonnetrieshaiku #100daysofhaiku

 

 

This Easter Day, I have something on my heart I’d like to share…

Some of you know I am a Christian, a Jesus Devotee… this means that my heart belongs to Jesus. My heart has been breaking over how the name of Jesus has been used to promote hate and bigotry. Jesus loves everyone. He valued and hung out with people considered fringe… prostitutes, thieves, foreigners, widows, orphans.. he was called a glutton and a drunk. Jesus was a feminist – he affirmed women in a culture that devalued them. He hung out with the poor and the rich… He hung out with all kinds of people and they were transformed by His presence. He was a radical and was killed for it. As a woman, an immigrant who happens to have brown skin, married to a man with cream-colored skin, who is friends with people who are gay, muslim, evanglical christian, Jewish, Hindu, Buddhist, yogi, agnostic, atheist, foreigners, americans, I stand with all who feel isolated, discriminated against and ostracized… I stand with those who feel invisible, alienated for their beliefs, race, background… There is a better way…. We can love and respect one another. Jesus loves everyone. All lives matter and I love you. ‪#‎Solidarity‬ ‪#‎Silenceofourfriends‬ ‪#‎ALLLivesMatter‬‪#‎HappyEaster‬

Abundance (Part 3) – The Importance of Sharing your Talents, no matter how “Small”! (Preview)

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This brief post is an exercise in sharing your talents no matter how little. I wrote several poems in my twenties. But I never showed them to anyone. I didn’t consider myself a writer or a poet. I just wrote out of necessity. It was as if I couldn’t contain it any longer and just had to write. I have since filled books with poems, songs and essays. I had to stifle this part of myself for medical school. Only since I started this blog did I truly embrace the fact that I need to write. I don’t just write because I want to to… I need to.

So, in celebration of National Poetry Month, I have dug up an old poem of mine written in 2000, published in TypeCast (The Brody School of Medicine Student Art & Literary Magazine Edition 2, 2008. I don’t call myself a poet, but the words call and I answer! 🙂 I will post old poems of mine through out the month. Enjoy! See you next time!

*Never Settle*
Gripped by a sense of urgency
The feeling came so suddenly
And I wonder,
Why it hadn’t come sooner.

See, I’ve been living in mediocrity,
Complacent in rigidity
Surrounded by the deceits of routine.

My destiny evaded me for so long
But my sense of purpose stayed strong.
Look at my reality
Can’t seem to figure out
Why the fire burns within my heart

There’s something on the brink of happening.

Moments pass me by without fanfare
Each fleeting minute fills me with despair
And I wonder
Why my passion never disappears

I’m confounded by the intensity
Of my conviction filled with certainty
That this life with all its season
is guided by its reasons.

And though I may not comprehend
The things that break and never mend
Or what messages the universe could send
I pledge to give my all
I’m possessed,
Never Settle for second best.

– Yvonne Whitelaw​

Yvonne Whitelaw  writes for Yvonnewhitelaw.com where she blogs about her quest to grow into her ideals in her “Live Your Ideals Project”. By sharing her Daily Haikus and lessons along the way (most Mondays and Thursdays), she hopes to serve and inspire a tribe of wholehearted  humanitarians, visionaries and idealists like you, to “live your ideals, live your calling and change the world.”

 

Abundance (Part 2) – Perspective, Humility and the Power of Courageous Giving

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“To live a pure unselfish life, one can count nothing as one’s own in the midst of abundance” – Buddha

 

You can’t take it with you.

Not the Rolls-Royce. Not the house.  Not the weaves. (Oh, I went there!) Not the shoes, not the makeup… Not even your body.

No.

So, why do we hold on so tightly to stuff?

All the material wealth you gather does not really belong to you.

This perspective can be humbling… hopefully, not humiliating, but humbling..

When you realize you do not really own anything, that you are a temporary steward of the abundance you have been given, everything changes.

You are a conduit, a portal, a vessel for abundance. Not for you to hold on to, but to pour out. Fill up and then pour out. I am not saying that you should not be wealthy. Not at all. I am saying you are an instrument, an avenue of abundance. It should flow through you.

Like a jar,  a fountain, filling up and pouring out… never empty, but ever flowing.

We get so obsessed with money… Debt can be overwhelming, so we worry and rightfully so.  But it is also important to remember that life is fleeting… And things can change in an instant…

If Bill Gates dies, he can’t take his billions with him… But I will remember that he did incredible  feats of courageous and even radical generosity –  using his money to alleviate poverty, to increase access to health care,  investing in  education for young girls, empowering women all over the world with reproductive health access,  funding treatment and research for the  world’s most challenging problems and diseases, etc.

That is Bill Gate’s true legacy and it is what I will remember.

It is also why I love Oprah… not because she’s famous but that she’s radically generous…  She has used her platform to inspire and equip millions like me to live their best lives, to dream bigger dreams and to serve the world with our light.

Someone once said, “you can’t help the poor if you are poor…”

I don’t completely believe that but I can see the truth in what he was trying to say. You become wealthy not to hoard the money for yourself, but to serve others…

Having this perspective can be gratifying… You realize that your wealth, status, credentials  do not make you superior to others.. They place you in a unique position to serve.

It is an honor and a privilege to be who you are. So, humble your self…

See yourself as you really are…. not better or worse than others… Stand your sacred ground.

I love the term used at my church ” Courageous generosity”.

I love the idea of giving courageously. The word “Courage”  means “to share your heart”… so giving courageously means giving  with the intention of sharing your heart. I love that!

I want to be a courageous giver. I want to be a radical giver…  Vulnerably giving, stretching myself…  stretching  my faith as I give…

Deep down inside, I know  I can not out-give God.

But I keep forgetting…

Giving courageously helps us exercise our faith. It helps remind us that there is always more where that came from and that we can never out-give God.

I have been the recipient of some radical generosity lately… and it has been humbling, healing and deeply gratifying…  And it has inspired me to  do all I can to make sure that I can give courageously.

Give courageously… not miserly, radically!

What do you think?

Imagine a world in which we gave courageously, having the perspective that we can’t go to our graves with the material wealth we accumulate.

Epicurius says, “Not what we have but what we enjoy constitutes our abundance”

What if we focused on what we could enjoy rather than what we have? Experiences and relationships rather than materials?

Give courageously. even radically…

What would that look like for you?

Spending time with someone who needs you when you’d rather run away? Paying a compliment?

Giving offering even after tithing? Volunteering? Going the extra mile? Forgiveness? Sacrifice?

If you are struggling with giving, think about your perspective. Humble yourself. And try again.

In the end, giving is not about materials… It is about energy, attention, focus, time. And what you pay attention to grows…

Bryant H. McGill says, “Abundance is a process of letting go; that which is empty can receive”

Here’s the secret – Giving is never a one way street.

You can’t give without receiving… Giving creates flow. When you give, you create space for receiving… It’s almost like trying to create a vacuum… Nature abhors a vacuum. When you give,you creating a vacuum and more rushes in… It’s all energy.

And like Mama Oprah says, you are responsible for the energy you bring into a room.

Having an abundance mindset means, knowing that there is more than enough for everyone. If someone shines or gets celebrated, it doesn’t diminish your light… it enhances it. There is enough. You are enough.

You are good enough. You are smart enough. You have everything you need in this moment.

How would your life change if you truly believed this? How will you give? And to whom?

Think about it.

And go… give… radically!

Cultivating Abundance:

1. What is your perspective on abundance? In what ways does your perspective need to change?

2. In what ways do you need to be humble? How has pride kept you from giving courageously?

3. What do you think about giving as energy not materials? What kind of energy do you bring?

4. In what ways have you been a recipient of courageous or even radical generosity?

5. In what ways can you pay that radical generosity forward?

6. What have you been holding too tightly? ‘In what ways can you loosen your grip, or even let go?

7. Who needs you? How can you fully show up for that person today? right now?

 

Love, forgiveness and time are all gifts you can freely give if you choose. It takes the right perspective or mindset, some humility and a whole lot of courage to give of yourself. How will you choose today?  See you next time!

Yvonne Whitelaw  writes for Yvonnewhitelaw.com where she blogs about her quest to grow into her ideals in her “Live Your Ideals Project”. By sharing her Daily Haikus and lessons along the way (most Mondays and Thursdays), she hopes to serve and inspire a tribe of wholehearted  humanitarians, visionaries and idealists like you, to “live your ideals, live your calling and change the world.”