What would life be if we had no courage to attempt anything? ---Vincent van Gogh
The other evening I was sitting there with the TV on Soundscapes, a Music Choice channel I like that's part of my cable service. One of its cool features is an on-screen procession of inspiring quotes by famous people...the above one by the renowned nineteenth century Dutch artist stood out to me. For he was right: trying new things can demand a great amount of courage, especially since failure is often a prominent part of that. Change is growth...not changing is stagnation, withering, decay and death. It's important to have a strong proactive element in my mental/emotional makeup that suggests, permits...and sometimes ultimately drives me to venture into fresh waters of new goals and endeavors. Also, it helps from time to time to undergo an interruption...planned or not...in my daily routine of habits. This gives me the opportunity to live away from some of the bad habits I've developed and point my life in a more healthful and productive direction...my recent surgery and recovery has served as such an interruption and has focused me on a number of areas that I am changing for the better. And recovery from open heart surgery...not to mention making the decision to undergo it in the first place...definitely fits into the category of things attempted needing courage. I am not well-versed in art...although I'm very familiar with van Gogh's beautiful, eerie 1889 painting The Starry Night, to which Don McLean paid tribute in his touching, sensitive 1972 song Vincent. I do know that this great artist lived his life true to his own standards, bravely explored new frontiers in his craft...and suffered through debilitating mental illness while being unrecognized for his accomplishments until after his much too early death at age 37. He's known for a lot of excellent quotes, but this one struck me personally in this season of my life...
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