Youth is the gift of nature, but age is a work of art.
– Stanislaw Jerzy Lec, Polish poet (1909-66)
Ha! Isn’t this the truth, not just for a writer, but for any artist. You’re young, anything is possible. You can return from the first manned mission to Jupiter and cure cancer the very next day. You can run faster than a gazelle and jump higher than anyone. You are boundless.
Then you get a few years under your belt and you realize that few things are possible. We’re human. The phrase ‘if you can dream it, you can be it’ means well, but isn’t altogether true. There are too many variables for anything to be possible. There are too many people leading random lives. We are simply not good enough. It could be anything keeping us from something. Maybe our goal wasn’t reasonable or wasn’t chased with sufficient diligence or courage or maybe we didn’t have sufficient diligence and courage to begin with.
But as you age you realize that external accomplishments don’t compare with the internal ones. This is especially true for an artist, whether you are writing something or making a quilt for the county fair. The day in, day out diligence required to ply the artists trade every day is its own reward. Sure, I’ve got wares to sell you here, but you know what? If you subscribe, great. If not, that’s OK, too. This came from the bottom of my heart, and writing it was supremely satisfying. My idea of fun.
xoxoxo
Kaitlyn K