#ruffedgrouse

5: The Road Ahead

2017 was a whirlwind of a year. I was making up for my hermit-like college years with ferocity–in addition to working at the Lab of O, I had joined two church choirs, gotten engaged in some community volunteering, and was socializing most nights of the week and weekend. Everything was going well and sprinting forward, and I could see a concrete future for myself coalescing that checked all of my boxes–something I’d been pursuing since I left my parent’s home 10 years prior.
Then a significant personal snag occured, and that envisioned future became so much fog. I was not sure what was next again.
It was in that fog, sitting at a coffeeshop in Burlington, VT, that I painted this image that went on to be my Christmas card for the year. I wasn’t very familiar with Stoicism at the time, but had unconsciously made for myself a little Stoic scholar in the form of this ruffed grouse.

The untouched snow ahead beckons. There are many ways to leave a trail, and all of them lead to life–with the right attitude, a life lived well. But no matter what, your job as One Who Lives is to press on–one foot in front of the other.

#happyholidays #throwback #advent #birdart #whimsical #watercolor #inkbirds #winterbirds #birdartist #theroadahead #journey #memories #ruffedgrouse #gouache #stoicism
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