I needed a pep talk this morning and went into the archives. I ran this post below back in 2009 with a quote from the Roman philosopher Seneca that really rang true to my ears then and now.
Fear creates our boundaries and prevents us from pursuing all that we desire. Our fears often make us doubt our own strengths, our own abilities, our capacity for enduring and every positive trait that has served us so well in the past.
These fears and doubts can make us stagnant, can keep us in our place. For some, that is satisfactory. They will take what they are given and live with that. For others, a life dictated by fears becomes an unbearable existence. They must move forward. They must face down their doubts and overcome their fears.
They must do what others tell them is too difficult to attempt.
They are the creators of the new world in which we will live.
Which will you be?
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“It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare; it is because we do not dare that they are difficult.”
– Seneca
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I’m at a point in my year when I have a little time to start working on new things, new directions for the work. It’s always an interesting time at which I’m always a little anxious, not wanting to squander this time by not pushing myself enough. To not dare myself to push through whatever barriers I have erected that I fear may be keeping my work static at the moment.
I view whatever small amount of talent or ability I have as being a ship and I am a sailor. I may know how to sail the ship and may have ventured fair distances. But there comes a point when I must dare to go further, past what I know. See places unseen by few others.
And that’s how it feels at the moment. The ship is at dock, waiting. The sea is there and the horizon clear. Now it’s up to me.
How far do I dare venture?
This painting, a 24″ by 20″ canvas is titled Shadowland. It’s from back in 2003 and has been living with me for almost all of the time since, floating from wall to wall in the studio. It’s been with me for so long that it sometimes go unnoticed and unappreciated for long periods of time. But sometimes I find myself stopping as I am passing it with some other thought in mind.
Redtree Times 