Divine Gifts: Rethinking Talent and Perception
The idea that God manifests in other people may be unclear to some, as it requires rethinking the conventional view of talent and dignity. Many tend to perceive their successes and talents as solely the result of their personal efforts, which leads to pride and comparative self-definition among individuals. For example, as stated in one source, "The gift from God is the source of life and our talents. [...] If a person compares himself with the saints, with Jesus Christ, he will immediately see himself more deeply, truly, and will not exalt himself. A believer does not say 'mine', but 'God's gift'" (source: link txt). In other words, if a person regards his talent as something entirely his own, he may miss the subtle boundary where the divine manifests in everyone, instead focusing solely on himself.Furthermore, perception is often influenced by the physical characteristics through which a person experiences the world. As noted in another quote, "Human perception of the world largely depends on how the bodily organs are formed, how the eyes, ears, skin, taste, and olfactory receptors are arranged. [...] A person perceives the world not randomly, but structurally, meaning that the influences of the surrounding world fall into certain channels, specific areas of bodily organization" (source: link txt). This means that our physiological traits determine how we receive and process information, and consequently, how we might sense or recognize the divine element in people. What one person may see as the manifestation of something higher in others, another might simply not perceive due to differences in sensory experience and cognitive structuring.Thus, the combination of social conditioning, realms of personal consciousness, and the physical mechanisms of perceiving the world explains why the idea of God's manifestation in every person may be misunderstood or perceived differently. This has both an internal and an objective character: internal beliefs influence what one notices in others, while individual physical characteristics set the very boundaries of perception.