RESTORERS HAVE A SPECIAL GIFT
By Frank M. Kiska
In my last article, I spoke of a "special gift" we all have received. Where did this gift come from...who gave it to us? Before I give you my opinion on the answer... I need to define what a gift is.A gift can be broken down into 2 categories. The first type comes from the mind... the gift of obligation. We are all guilty to a certain extent of participating in giving as well as receiving this gift. It happens at Christmas... on birthdays... graduations... house warmings... weddings and I could go on forever. You get the picture. We give and receive because we have to... not because we want to. We are often asked "What do you need?" or we impose ourselves on others by telling them what we expect and want. This type of gift is actually not a gift at all... how can it be? It produces in one's mind frustration... resentment... selfishness and sometimes anger. We are all being hypocritical by giving as well as receiving this gift... but we do it anyway. For the givers... it makes them feel good... they have fulfilled their obligation. For the receivers... they feel awkward, because they know that the givers have fulfilled their obligation. It can indeed be a very vicious circle.
The second type of "special gift" comes from the heart. It is given as well as received in the spirit that it is intended... with kindness, trust and hope. Obligation does not come into the picture with this gift... we all give and receive because we want to... not because we have to. In other words... it is appreciated by the giver as well as the receiver... with no strings attached. What makes this gift so special, is that the giving as well as the receiving become one... and this is called "sharing".
The Association of Restorers' motto is "We Share Our Secrets." I saw this first hand at our convention in May. I was privileged once again to meet and talk with "craftsmen and craftswomen" from all around the country who wanted to give as well as receive as much knowledge as possible. We all left our "egos" at the front door and listened and learned from one another for 3 days. The enthusiasm of the 75 or so who attended blew me away. I have attended conventions and workshops before... but never like this one. The people there were genuine... their minds as well as their hearts were wide open... taking in and giving all they could because they wanted to.
Where did this "special gift" come from? Who gave it to us? In my opinion, it starts with a thought in our minds and it transfigures itself into our hearts. We are all driven in what we do, and what we believe in, and this is the greatest gift of all... understanding and contentment with who we are and what we do. We restore things... wood... porcelain... metal... stone... paintings... frames... model ships...whatever. The mind and heart can work together... this is called "knowledge" and it needs to be tossed around... shared with each other. It also needs to be preserved and nurtured... only the heart can do this... and judging from what I heard and saw in Palm Beach... we are in really good shape.