What's the Hurry?

 This week's quotation, by Austrian writer, Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach, is true, but so counter-cultural for us to hear. "Whoever says patience, says courage, perseverance, strength."

Because we live in a world of do it now, get it done, then on to the next thing. But sometimes (I would say, more often than not) it would be better if we could find the patience to take the time needed to do a good job. And also time to appreciate what we have just done. A breathing space.

In her wonderful book, The Gifts of Imperfection, Brene Brown writes about "the new cultural belief that everything should be fun, fast and easy [which] sets us up for hopelessness. When we experience somthing that is difficult and requires significant time and effort, we are quick to think, This is supposed to be easy; it's not worth the effort or This should be easier: it's only hard and slow because I'm not good at it. Hopeful self-talk sounds more like, This is tough, but I can do it."

Which requires patience, courage, perseverance and strength. Brown goes on to write, "We develop a hopeful mind-set when we understand that some worthy endeavours will be difficult and time-consuming and not enjoyable at all. Hope also requires us to understand that just because the process of reaching a goal happens to be fun, fast, and easy doesn't mean that it has less value than a difficult goal. If we want to cultivate hopefulness, we have to be willing to be flexible and demonstrate perseverance. Not every goal will look and feel the same. Tolerance for disappointment, determination and a belief in self are the heart of hope."

So when we're getting bogged down in and/or impatient about whatever we're working on, let's try to remember that we're here for the long haul. I find it helpful to ask myself: "Will this matter in a month? in a year? in five years?"

Which helps me to regain some perspective and to be sufficiently patient and persevere with whatever it is.

Faith *and* Persistence

Samuel Johnson wrote, "Great works are accomplished not through faith, but through persistence." Hmm. Not with you on that one, Mr. Johnson.

Let me explain. I completely agree that any great work can only be accomplished "through persistence", BUT I believe that without faith, the persistence will be much harder to maintain. And I don't necessarily mean religious faith either. I mean belief in yourself, in the project, in why it is necessary to add it to the world's treasures. Whether the project is a book, a poem, a picture, a craft item, a piece of music or a stunning building, such as those in the Forum in Rome (pictured above). 

All creators, of whatever stripe, need both faith and persistence to complete their creations. All creations begin with an idea, an inspiration. And I believe that there are many, many unfinished creations lurking in desk drawers, dark cupboards, or which never "left the drawing board", either because the creator and/or their financial backers did not have faith in it, or because the creator lacked the persistence to carry on working on the project until it was complete.

Beginning a creative project, a "great work" is relatively easy. Bringing it to successful completion is another. I think that both faith and persistence are needed to accomplish this goal. The creator needs faith in themselves, and in what they are creating, not to listen to what Brené Brown calls "the gremlins" - those little voices in your head that sneer at you, saying that your work is rubbish, that you are no good at it, that "Who do you think *you* are, to call yourself a writer / artist / creator of any kind?" 

And they need persistence, to get through the inevitable dry times, when the Inspiration Fairy has gone AWOL, and the blank page or blank canvas is taunting them about their lack of accomplishment. A great deal of persistence is needed to break through this wall and continue to create, putting word by word down on the page, paint stroke by paint stroke, stitch by stitch, note by note. 

And people need both, to bring whatever work they have in hand to completion. Which may mean working on a relationship, practising a piano piece, exploring their inner selves. It applies to all areas of human activity, not creation alone.

Faith *and* persistence. Both are needed.