incorrectly.
Never, ever, judge a fledgling piece of work too quickly.
Be willing to paint or write badly while your ego yelps
resistance. Your bad writing may be the syntactical
breakdown necessary for a shift in your style. Your lousy
painting may be pointing you in a new direction. Art needs
time to incubate, to sprawl a little, to be ungainly and
misshapen and finally emerge as itself. The ego hates this
fact. The ego wants instant gratification and the addictive hit
of an acknowledged win.
The need to win—now!—is a need to win approval from
others. As an antidote, we must learn to approve of
ourselves. Showing up for the work is the win that matters.
He who knows others is wise; he who knows himself is
enlightened.
LAO-TZUI will tell you what I have learned myself. For me, a
long five or six mile walk helps. And one must go alone
and every day.
BRENDA UELAND