16814780567985021 The Path Forward

The speaker discusses the importance of taking time to explore nature as an artist. They compare the path in the forest to the journey of life, emphasizing that it is not always easy but worth the effort. The speaker also mentions their recent painting that represents these experiences. They encourage listeners to share the message that moving forward is the only option and that they will eventually reach their destination. It's always good to start your day with a cup of tea. I can't think of any day that would start better than a day that starts with a cup of tea. Welcome to the Lost Paddler podcast series on robertmcafee.com. Today I'd like to talk to you about the path forward. In my experiences as an artist, one of the things that you need to do is travel. You need to afford yourself the time, in fact you need to make sure that you plan time in your day or week or at the very least once or twice a month to leave your comfortable surroundings and to get out into nature and see it and feel it and experience it. It's truly the only way that an artist can honestly render the woods and the forests and the sensations and the beauty of it all, but also it's truly the only way that an artist can represent the obstacles, the things that we need to step over in life to get to the place we want to be. When I walk through the forest, and I've done it many, many times, in many, many locations across Canada and in fact in the United States as well, I note that the path is never flat. It's never even. You need to wear a really good pair of shoes for hiking in the forest, for traversing over the rocks and through the narrow passageways. And over the winter months, the snow that lay heavy on the branches and the old trees that fall over and crack under the weight, they lay across the path, and in many cases the branches and the leaves, they're decaying, they're getting dry, they're on their path to completing the circle of life. But as you walk, you have to step over these things, and if you're not careful, sometimes you can sink into a little bit of a hole or a gap between rocks that you didn't see because of the piles of leaves. I think that life is not unlike the path in the forest. We know that we want to get to the end, to the destination. We know that we want to experience the beauty along the way. But nothing in life comes easy. Nothing that is truly valuable, nothing that truly is worth the effort. In fact, we can count on it. And so recently, I set out to paint a painting that depicts these experiences exactly as I feel them. The path forward is not always clear at times. Reaching our destination means stepping over obstacles and navigating circumstances that perplex us. One thing is for sure, moving forward is the only option. And I hope that this moment right here with me on the Lost Paddler podcast series on robertmcafee.com has been a little bit of an encouragement to you. Be sure and share with somebody. Let somebody else know that the path forward is one of hope. And certainly, even with all of its obstacles, you'll get there. It's just a matter of time.