Dawn to begin to be perceived or understood 50.5 x 61.5cm (20 x 24in)
I've never spend more time on a piece than Dawn. She is intricate, delicately layered and expresses so much of what I have learnt the past season.
To me, she represents consistency. The consistency and faithfulness of the sun rising each day, signalling new mercies and a fresh start. The consistency I've been building in waking up when the alarm goes off.
I recently heard a podcast interview with the late Kobe Bryant, and what he said stuck with me: "I don't negotiate with myself. The deal was already made when I set out at the start of the season. This is the training plan I’m doing. I signed the contract with myself so I’m doing it. Language like “I think I need to...maybe if I just run extra laps tomorrow" is dangerous. It’s non negotiable."
The consistency of showing up everyday and following through on your promises to yourself is the foundation for motivation and inspiration. For years I thought it was the other way around. But then I realised how the trust I was building with myself was impacting every area of my life: As I followed through on waking up at dawn to paint and pray without snoozing the aalrm, I realised this is what the apostle Paul was talking about; bringing your body into submission to your mind. And you know what? Discipline sounds like rigidness and self denial, but it's the opposite: Discipline sets you free. It creates structure, like a trellis for a vine, to grow crazy and wild. There's such a victory won when I don't do things based on how I feel. I'm learning to do things based on who I am,
If a caterpillar had a mirror, do you think it would ever become a butterfly? A caterpillar is miraculously born with the mindset and DNA of a butterfly, even though you could never tell when it's first hatched as a slimy, hairy lump of cells.
Learning the art of consistency and discipline allows me to be a more faithful, grounded person not only to others but to myself. After all, wherever you go, there you are.