Responsibilities of an Individual

Oscar Wilde once said, 'I put all my genius into my life, and I put only my talent into my works'. This quote puts my mind at work to investigate the two things - genius and talent, and life and works. Genius is extraordinary intellectual gift evidenced by original creation, expression or achievement and the talent is mental endowment or capacity of a superior quality.

My life is what I am, and my work is what I do. But what I do depends on not only what I am but also what my circumstances demand from me. So, my work is influenced by my circumstances but my originality of personality remains unaffected by these.

Now, the question is what is the use of my personality if it is not governing my works. My genius is what I am in totality but my talent is my effort to perform under given circumstances. Although, I use my genius to perform but it is not the sole governor of my performance. I add my articulating skills, or arts, also to perform which are only a part of my genius. So, my art at any time is designed to suit the circumstances at that time. My genius is much more than my art at any instant. This means that I don't use all my genius in all my works. I tailor it to suit the occasion and that is my talent.

This indicates that a person is not what he/she appears to be at a certain time, it is only a part of his/her personality. This also indicates, whatever good our performance at any time may be, it always has chances of improvement if circumstances allow us, or in other words, are congenial.

I alone am not responsible for my circumstances but it the my total history and geography which govern my circumstances. I am only a part of my history and geography and so am responsible, though partially, for performances of mine and all others. So, I am influencing the whole society and its performances not only today but for all times to come.