In our world of instant gratification, success is often pictured as something that comes quickly and easily to the lucky few. What often doesn't make the news is the long journey of repeated failures that accompanies even the best and brightest of our society. What gets lost is that the most determined people often become successful because they don't let their temporary failures impede what they know could be their ultimate success. Said simply, they don't quit.
When I decided to give my natural talent and love for Art a chance, I told my oldest daughter and asked her what she thought about it. She smiled widely, hugged me and said, "Aw, Momma! You're going to live your dream!" This sweetly innocent response was probably stolen from Disney's "Tangled," but it stung my heart in a good way and made me think that my choice to give my passion a chance was not just for me; it was for my kids.
Over the past few months, that same daughter has watched me struggle with some projects, doubt myself, and get frustrated. She has watched me try to paint her and her sisters and make them look, well, terrible. She has seen the look of disappointment on my face when I don't capture the light or the shadow just right in one of my landscapes. She has seen the irritation when I don't mix the colors the way I intend. She has seen and heard me lament about not having enough time to paint.
But with all of that negativity, she has also seen that I haven't given up - that I keep trying - that I am persistent. She has seen me finally capture the essence of her and her sisters in watercolor. She has seen me satisfied and proud of landscapes and abstracts. She has seen me learn new things and improve just by trying and doing.
If nothing else, my journey with art is a success in this regard. The lessons I'm teaching my kids by allowing them to witness my process - that skills take time to develop, that not all successes come quickly or easily, and that not all failures are for nothing- are things that you can't always learn by seeing the work of a famous artist or by hearing the perfected music of a famous musician. I can only hope that I'm teaching dedication, perseverance, and self-forgiveness. Failure happens to all of us; how we react to it is what makes or breaks us.