Follow your dreams and see them through

At the firm I used to work, my colleagues never really talked about what would be next in store for them after retirement. Maybe it was because they already had put their hearts and souls into their life-work so that it was hard for them to imagine what there could be, or maybe it was because some of them had become so rich that they were looking forward to finally spending it. Whatever the reason was, the standard response at the Farewell Party was, “first I take six months off and then we’ll see.” One colleague was different though, he only smiled knowingly when I asked him what would be next for him; apparently he was too embarrassed to tell me. Later  over dinner, however, he mustered his boldness and revealed to everyone that he would become a painter. Well, good for him.

The wife of a friend is an art curator. When she had a look at his first paining, she later said in private, “this painting is so bad, it is almost good!” Well, the newly minted painter couldn’t be discouraged by the naysayers. He took classes, learned some new techniques, and experimented with them. He kept going no matter what the critics said. Years later I met someone who had seen his more recent paintings and remarked that they were quite good. The art curator also had a look at his paintings in later years. She mused that in fact there was something refreshing about his first painting that the acquired technique in later years took a little away from the original boldness. Still, she also admitted that his paintings had gotten much better over the years.

Lesson learned, if you feel that you have something important to share, do it! The establishment will need some time accepting your amateurish initial attempts at expressing yourself. That happened to me too, but for every naysayer I met two supporters who endorsed my work enthusiastically. These days I have just finished my second book—The Way of the Meister—and also steadily refine my technique and support system. I am convinced though that some will be more inspired by my earlier work—The Magnificent Experiment—despite its apparent short-comings. As the saying goes, boldness has genius, power and magic in it. I can only echo what my painter friend also discovered, ten years into my spiritual writing journey, there is still so much left to discover and to share. Follow your dreams and see them through!