Each one of us are in some way a work in progress. A living being and spirit that is constantly evolving into the future. Even if we don’t want it to, time hurls us forward giving us the option to progress with it or stagnate. In everything we do many of us try to heal the mistakes of the past and set a list of goals that we believe can make our lives better. We reach out for help in many different directions…..some ask advice of friends, others look to the Heavens to ask God for guidance. We are a canvas that is constantly being added to, that is never quite finished until our death….and even then, we go on. None of us have all the answers, and that is the beauty of life, that we continue to discover things we don’t know that can lead us to becoming better people.

We are all painters, adding and subtracting to this canvas we call Life. Sometimes others walk into our room and say to us, “How about a little blue and green in that corner?” You see, none of us are separated from the rest. We are a group of people in individual rooms painting away everyday with connecting doors under one roof. The time we spend at our canvas differs with each person. But as we go through our connecting doors and see how others are progressing it is sad to see some people’s canvas surrounded by cobwebs, having long ago stopped painting, while others are vibrant and full of life.

I think God wants us all to become great painters in this school of life. We all need help and guidance along the way but it is within our power to create a masterpiece. All many people need is a little encouragement and a little belief that it can happen, it can be accomplished, while all around us we are told it can’t be done. It can. It’s okay to give a little advice yourself once in awhile. You may see somebody making a mistake that you yourself made last week, and you found the correction. Don’t be afraid to share it….say it with kindness…nobody wants to be criticized.

It’s important that through all this work in progress we enjoy our successes and be compassionate through our failures. If we really look at the canvas it will tell us what is needed….the canvas is you and me. With each stroke of paint we try to evolve to the next level of living. Yes, Life in some way to many of us is an incredible experiment in finding healing and
solutions to the questions that haunt us. There are answers and they can come from many directions.

A painter lives in each one of us. Some may not like how you paint, but it still can be beautiful. The school of life can never have enough painters. There is always room for another masterpiece.

Paint on,

Jennifer Avalon
© 1998 Jennifer Avalon