THE WISDOM OF THE IVYVERSE

       Perfection requires lots of time and effort. Even if you’ve got a talent for something, it still will require attention and dedication before you master it.

       Ivy is used to getting what she wants with minimal effort, so when she has trouble learning to roller-blade, she gives up almost immediately, issuing a dejected statement: “I can’t.” Her friend Bill has an encouraging response:

“If you don’t practice this at all, how do you expect to be able to do it? You can’t just automatically be good at somethin’ the first time you try it.” —Bill, Book 2, Chapter 2

       And keep in mind that unless you get in practice and STAY in practice, your learned abilities might become unlearned. Your best bet is to treat your talents like touchy friends, and give them attention and respect. Otherwise, they might leave you, and never come back in quite the same manner again.

       When Adele expects to be allowed to take shortcuts in her prophecy work, her teacher Tabitha has this to say about her talent:

"Refuse to give it license to work and it will stop doing so." —Tabitha, Negative One, 0010

       And Nicholas, who’s practiced and perfected many talents and abilities in his life, offers this bit of advice:

“The best cure for inexperience is practice.” —Nicholas, Book 5, Chapter 14

       Ruben knows plenty about having a talent and developing it:

“Singers start out with a talent for singing, and to develop it, they take lessons from more experienced teachers. . . . To get better, any talent needs honing, and . . . that takes practice.” —Ruben, Book 3, Chapter 33

       Do yourself a favor and keep the talents you value in shape!