Word #99. Love.

Becca Cody, one of the brave founding parents of Acton Academy, shared these words with me yesterday and said, “This really spoke to me….Thank you for teaching us to not be afraid to let our kids chase their dreams and to allow them to do things that scare us.”

I have been really contemplative of why people don’t do the thing they love with their life. The fear of commitment is real but I hate when I hear of how people’s dreams have been put down by others. There is little true hardship or mountains left that haven’t been conquered besides climbing the mountain that is your own. The valley is safe and there are a lot of friends down there but the biggest joy is on your mountain.  What really cuts my gut open is when someone is in love with something, but decides to stay away from it completely because they can’t be the best at it, they compare themselves to others, or they figure if they can’t spend all their time doing it why do it at all. Growing up I loved old western movies and reading Louis Lamour books, my imagination could take me places I loved and I could get glimpses of the mountain, just a shadow. There is no trail to take or time machine that can take me to that life of adventure I long to live besides standing here and painting. This is my mountain. There is sacrifice and hardship leaving the comfort of the valley but I promise life on the mountain is better. Don’t listen to the valley people. – Contemporary Western Artist Jeff Weir, @jeffweiroilworks

Parenting is scary business. But love makes us brave.