“… and we never failed to fail, it was the easiest thing to do.”
– Crosby, Stills and Nash

This note above was from a fortune cookie many years ago. It struck a chord with me. The ring so very, very loud. I had it sitting on my windowsill in my kitchen right at my desk so whenever I was cooking or working at the computer I could see it. It was there for at least 10 years before I moved. I am not sure where it is now, much to my sadness. (again, silly things that mean nothing to anyone else) It was a constant reminder that life is short. That I can talk about accomplishing anything I want, but that won’t get the work done.

Yes, the dishes still need done and yes, I enjoy sleeping in. But until I get my ass in gear and churn out actual work nothing will get created. And I have a few goals I need to chip away at. I am sure you do as well.

I love that line above from the song Southern Cross by Crosby Stills and Nash. Whenever it comes on and I hear it I literally could sink my teeth into that lyric. “And we never failed to fail, it was the easiest thing to do”… oh yeah. Failure is easy.

The lyric from the song continues… “You will survive being bested”

Yep. I have survived being rejected from many shows, fell short on my visions with my work and have felt like a failure sometimes. It can really sting. Whiskey helps, but really the only thing to do to correct that feeling is work.

And work some more.

The song goes on….

“Think about how many times I have fallen.
Spirits are using me, larger voices callin’ ”

I am sure if you are an artist, you have felt that calling. That voice. You know the one. Somedays it is so LOUD! And sometimes it is so soft it gets drown out by the cacophony of everyday life. That is when I know I need to be still. I turn off the tv and listen for it. It is always there. And if I listen very closely and follow it, it will lead me to my studio. And before I know it, I have a brush or a pastel stick in my hand, and I am painting- even when I thought I did not feel like it.

Failing is easy. Maybe we should not get so upset with ourselves with such an easy task. Better to congratulate ourselves for the success of working. Just working. And build a reputation slowly, slowly… each failure piling up until we can put our feet on them and feel a solid foundation.

What I am going to do does not matter. Only what I am doing.