Just When You Feel Like Giving Up

“After the Storm, Sunset on Anna Maria Island” oil painting sold this week. Artwork by Susan E. Brooks available at Preston Arts Center

Just when you feel like giving up, something good may happen.

This year I’ve been floundering a bit, thinking maybe my time to sell art was over. I hadn’t sold anything yet, and the calendar read September.

Then I received an email saying I sold a painting (and a greeting card), and suddenly I felt that everything is possible! I had ideas about what to paint after a dearth of inspiration for months. Even after a few years of selling my art, it still feels miraculous that out of the blue, a stranger sees my work and wants to pay for it. That miracle is so encouraging. It can change the direction of someone’s life. 

It doesn’t even take something as big as a sale. Just a few words of encouragement can absolutely change someone’s day and might be just what they need to keep going. So many of us are struggling these days to keep our spirits up and to hope that life can be good. If we spend too much time online, absorbing the news and everyone else’s anger or boasting, that may not be healthy for our spirits.

If there’s something you’ve been thinking of doing that will bless somebody, then do it! Don’t put off supporting the friend, or the local artist, or the local store. Reach out and give if you’re able. If you’re discouraged, be patient. Keep practicing, doing what you love to do, and the good will come, or a friend will help you keep going until it does, I pray. In the meantime, see what you can give of yourself to someone else. They may need help more than you do, and in helping others, we ourselves are lifted up. Don’t lose hope. As the painting reminds us, after the storm, beauty comes. Keep waiting for the beauty.