Your Life-- A Masterpiece!

Each moment of your life is a brush stroke in the painting of your
growing career.

There are the bold, sweeping strokes of one
increasing, dynamic purpose.

There are the lights and shadows
that make your life deep and strong.

There are the little touches
that add the stamp of character and worth.

The art of achievement
is the art of making life--your life--a masterpiece...
--Wilferd A Peterson

Every day we contribute to the person we will become one day. If you envision yourself as a portrait, you'll see how we continue to add to the who we are in what could be called brush strokes, some bold and brilliant, some subtle and understated. We may have a bit of an idea of what the portrait will look like when we finish, but that's just an idea--there's a very good chance that our contributions to our lives will lead us to be much different than we now think we will...

Can my life be a masterpiece? Absolutely. Will it hang in the Louvre? Definitely not. Some of the most beautiful paintings that I've ever seen have been hanging in doctors' or dentists' offices, or they've been on the wall in some college or gallery. And they've been true masterpieces--beautiful works that are full of great details and lots of character...

I always remind myself that my life probably isn't one that is going to be up for public scrutiny. My masterpiece may be seen by no one when it's finished one day, but that's okay by me--I want the brush strokes to mean something to me, and something to the people I touch in life. Even if my masterpiece hangs in some hidden room that few people ever visit, that's fine--the fun is in the creation of it, without being attached to any expectations of what will happen to it when it's done...

If one advances confidently in the direction of
one's dreams, and endeavors to live the life one
has imagined, one will meet with a success
unexpected in common hours...
--Henry David Thoreau


~ Living Life Fully ~