There is no great accomplishment without resistance.
There is no victory without struggle.
These are things to which all of us pay lip service, but how many act as if they are really true?
For the artist, the key to identity, meaning, & soulfulness in art is found in the journey along difficult, challenging, soul-shaping roads. Pressure, obstacle, and obstruction are par for the course. The treasures discovered along the hard road cannot be happened upon any other way.
Too many these days expect the benefits and results accrued by successful artists without the willingness to venture down the uncomfortable and treacherous paths necessary to acquire them. Great art is more than than the stuff of technical ability and raw skill - it is the outpouring of the soul and the pursuit of beauty & truth.
The hard reality is that security & comfort tend to impede artistic growth rather than enable it. The desire to be insulated from uncertainty and protected from risk are the very things that will keep from you confidence, peace, and a sense of identity within your art. Worse, security is an illusion: struggle has a way of finding even the most protected individuals.
The real question is not whether or not we will struggle during the pursuit of our dreams, but whether we will embrace the difficult things in light of what they will bring forth in our lives. Like the athlete in the gym or the musician in the practice room, the person who would see their dreams accomplished and their goals achieved must be willing to embrace difficulty, discomfort, and sacrifice.
So, for everyone out there struggling today... this one's for you:
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