Perhaps freedom from the lies that told us we'd 'never do it' or we
'don't have the brains' - and stuff like that.
When we remember the things we DID achieve, it proves how wrong these people are when they tell us lies. Even ONE success proves that we have what it takes to be a success at what we want to do.
My problem was not so much in being told I 'couldn't' do it, but in being told that I'd 'done better', and I could never please one particular person. It was never 'good enough'! But I realize now that this was just another attempt to make me feel inadequate and give the other person power.
When I was giving children private Art classes, I would praise them all - regardless of how good their paintings were, because I delighted in seeing their little faces light up and the looks of determination to do even better. Encouragement does far more good than criticism, I found. Praise for what they had done gave them the confidence to aim higher, and they were so keen to learn more. They may not have been budding Rembrandts, but they enjoyed their painting and that was the most important thing in my book.
I think we need to do that with our own talents too. Give ourselves the praise we deserve, and then watch how we improve! If we love what we do, what we do will grow and mature, and others will love it too.
I recall one mother of a little girl who painted a lake with a boat in it. Mother said something like:
"Oh, Sweetie, it's all out of perspective. That fish the man has caught is bigger than that tree on the bank!"
The wise child replied that the tree wasn't the subject of her painting, but the FISH was!! I loved that!
People are always trying to tell us what we should be putting in our paintings of life, and how we should be interpreting them!
Really, we are the best ones to know, aren't we?
AF
