It took Michelangelo twelve years . . . one brush stroke at a time . . . to paint his biblical scenes in the sistine Chapel. It Brahms twenty years . . . one note at a time . . . to compose his First Symphony. It took Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay eighty days . . . one step at a time . . . to climb the 29,000 feet of Mount Everest. Word by word, brush stroke by brush stroke, note by note, step by step, problem by problem, prayer by prayer . . .
This is the secret of achievement.
(Divine Spark, The Sistine Chapel)
Stick to your task,
Till it sticks to you.
Beginners are many
But enders are few.
Honor, power, place and praise,
Will come in the time of him who stays.
Stick to your task,
Till it sticks to you.
Bend at it, sweat at it,
Smile at it too.
For out of the bend, the sweat and the smile,
Will come life's victories, after a while.
~anon
This is the stone arch that sat at the front of the Elizabethan Knot garden which lay at the front of the manor when I worked there. It was rumored to be the oldest example of Renaissance stone work in the UK and had a date on it of 1577 and was said to have been commissioned and created by a friend of Michelangelo actually, although I don't know how true that was. I suspect it was just something the Mrs made up to puff up her importance. In any case it was very old and quite imposing. I remember often looking at it and wondering about the person who created it . . . their life, how long it must have taken with the tools of the day, and other such things . . .
Our world is filled with majestic things . . . beautiful creations . . . each one built and created, one stone, one brushstroke, one dream . . . at a time. I think we need to remind ourselves of that truth when we find obstacles in front of us that seem daunting or even impossible to conquer . . . or tasks that we feel we will never finish . . . or dreams think will never come true . . .
We had a lovely day yesterday. It was a gloriously sunny autumn day! A day filled with all of the things you love about Autumn. Back home it would have been a day to visit the farm market . . . buy pumpkins and apples and admire the shelves of jewel-like preserves on offer, and the apple pies. I always loved visiting the local farm markets in the autumn. Instead we took the opportunity while we were waiting for Mitzie to be groomed to walk around the Gordale Nursery again. (We do love that place!) Since our soft fruit did so well this year, we picked up two more blueberry bushes to put in and two more raspberry bushes (one red and one gold) to go along with the two we already have. I always love to peruse around the gift shop as well, while Todd takes himself off to the cafe to have a read and a hot chocolate.
I am sure he sweats the whole time . . . thinking I am going to spend lots of money. I don't and . . . like I always tell him . . . it costs nothing to look at and admire.
Must dash, it's gone 7 am and I just realized I haven't taken my shower yet (love how that sounds!!) and we have church this morning!
Here's a happy thought to begin your day on and carry with you the whole day through!
"Time stands still best in moments that look suspiciously like ordinary life."
~Brian Andreas
Baking in The English Kitchen today . . . an Autumn Berry Tray Bake.
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