Her magic words were, "Keep going." words & stock photo collage by Victoria Lynn Hall* |
Perseverance is something I really began to grasp the value of when I began painting. I imagine that even if we had been able to watch the old masters paint, their paintings wouldn't have looked very masterful halfway or even three quarters or more the way through. Sometimes, when I paint, I don't like what I'm painting until the last brushstroke.
Having perspective also matters. You can't judge the progress of a painting close up. You have to step back, tilt your head, maybe squint your eyes to get a feeling for how it is going and where you want to take it from there.
As I said in my, "Don't Give Up" post, not quitting doesn't mean we stubbornly plod along no matter what happens. Sometimes we have to go where the footholds are and take a different route than we thought we would, sometimes we have to go back to the drawing board and start over, sometimes we end up somewhere we never expected to be. Sometimes we know we've arrived only when we see the view open up before us, making us glad we didn't give up before we took that last careful step. And next time we make a climb, we remember that even when things look rough, we can and will climb out of it if we just find a way to keep going.
If you share the image above, I hope you will credit me, Victoria Lynn Hall and link back to this page. You can also find it on the IBelieveInArt Facebook Page.
*Stock Photo Credits
Woman rock climbing:
Mountain Goat: Elena Duvernay
Night Sky:
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