The Starry Night by Vincent van Gogh Happy Monday! Have you seen this clip from Dr. Who? Admittedly, I've never watched the show before, but came across this clip on social media awhile back and it has stuck with me.
The Dr. has brought Vincent van Gogh (through time travel, of course) to an art gallery in Paris where he gets an emotional surprise seeing his paintings on display. In a beautiful bit of acting, the ever charming Bill Nighy plays an art historian who explains why Vincent van Gogh might just be the most masterful painter of all time. It's an incredibly moving moment where Vincent, who only ever sold one painting (out of 900!) during his lifetime, and considered himself a failure, gets to finally get a sense of how much his art has affected people all around the world. It's a moment where someone who feared he had failed realizes that he is having more impact than he ever could have imagined.
Isn't that what every single one of us wants? To know that our creativity matters? That the things we do and make and say affect other people for good? This clip made me cry and I'm not embarrassed to admit that it's because so often, I fear that I might be failing somehow. Failing to make enough, to be enough, to have my work experienced by enough people to make a difference. But value and worth are more than just blog traffic statistics and book deals and I believe that what I am doing does matter. What you are doing matters as well. We're all like pebbles being tossed into the same pond. Everything we do causes ripples in the water, some that we can see and others we can't. Energy is exchanged and shifted and we are never the same.
Today's Motivation Monday assignment is twofold:
1. Watch the clip below. Prepare to cry ugly tears like I did or at least get a bit weepy.
2. Write a thank you to your creative heroes. They might be best selling authors and they might be your very own friends. It all counts. Too often, we let people pass on before we let them know what they mean to us, how they inspire us, and that the world is brighter because they are here. Text, email, call, tag them on Facebook, send them snail mail or an owl. Get the message out any way you can. You could change the way someone feels about themselves and the work they feel called to do in this world, and that could make all the difference.
Who you are matters. What you are doing is affecting the world. I'm glad you're here.
The Dr. has brought Vincent van Gogh (through time travel, of course) to an art gallery in Paris where he gets an emotional surprise seeing his paintings on display. In a beautiful bit of acting, the ever charming Bill Nighy plays an art historian who explains why Vincent van Gogh might just be the most masterful painter of all time. It's an incredibly moving moment where Vincent, who only ever sold one painting (out of 900!) during his lifetime, and considered himself a failure, gets to finally get a sense of how much his art has affected people all around the world. It's a moment where someone who feared he had failed realizes that he is having more impact than he ever could have imagined.
Isn't that what every single one of us wants? To know that our creativity matters? That the things we do and make and say affect other people for good? This clip made me cry and I'm not embarrassed to admit that it's because so often, I fear that I might be failing somehow. Failing to make enough, to be enough, to have my work experienced by enough people to make a difference. But value and worth are more than just blog traffic statistics and book deals and I believe that what I am doing does matter. What you are doing matters as well. We're all like pebbles being tossed into the same pond. Everything we do causes ripples in the water, some that we can see and others we can't. Energy is exchanged and shifted and we are never the same.
Today's Motivation Monday assignment is twofold:
1. Watch the clip below. Prepare to cry ugly tears like I did or at least get a bit weepy.
2. Write a thank you to your creative heroes. They might be best selling authors and they might be your very own friends. It all counts. Too often, we let people pass on before we let them know what they mean to us, how they inspire us, and that the world is brighter because they are here. Text, email, call, tag them on Facebook, send them snail mail or an owl. Get the message out any way you can. You could change the way someone feels about themselves and the work they feel called to do in this world, and that could make all the difference.
Who you are matters. What you are doing is affecting the world. I'm glad you're here.
