Canvas Metaphor

Your life is like a canvas, on which life experiences are painted.

If parts of your life have "gone wrong", or if there have been terrible injuries and painful experiences, these will permanently be part of the canvas.

Yet, the ongoing process of life, starting every morning, gives a daily opportunity to add more to the canvas. Part of the "painting" is outside your control, but part of the "painting" is controlled directly by your will.

Paint well. Learn new ways to paint. Learn from books, learn from other people, learn from children, learn from the elderly, learn from animals in nature. Be willing to use new tools or brushes or pigments. You may need to take a colour mixing class, so you can get just the right hue that you want. The canvas is large, and expanding. The painful areas may not disappear, but their relative size on the canvas will diminish as you add more to your painting each day.

You may find that your painting intersects or resonates with other people's paintings. That can be a great joy of life. Or you may find that your painting stands alone. There is room for every style in the great art gallery here on the earth.