There is a very famous film of Picasso painting live. About halfway through creating an effortless masterpiece he says “ Ca va tres mal” (it’s going very badly). Even someone like Picasso struggled to get a painting to go where he wanted it to go. It’s his self-belief, confidence and self-trust that allows him to work through the “bad” stage and experience that tells him that he can make it right. I’m certainly not in that league, but that helped me to understand that I should push through (although sometime you can try too hard and take a sketch too far) and trust my instinct.
I don't think many places in the UK have so much condensed beauty in such a relatively small area as the Cotswolds.
Rituals help us to chain-link one thing to another as we move towards our chosen aim. The structure of routine comforts us, and the uniqueness of our own rituals focuses our attention on our personal goals.
By giving meaning to our routines, we decide where to place our attention and what we care about.
32 years ago I used to be a very heavy smoker, nearly two packs per day. Soon after the birth of my daughter, we brought her home from the hospital. As I held her in my arms I was also just finishing a cigarette. My daughter gave a little cough and I realised if there was ever a time to give up smoking this was it!
