Absolute value
It’s time for the annual window painting competition in my little town. Store owners allow kids to have a 2 foot by 4 foot piece of window to paint a scary/funny/punny Halloween billboard, and the winners get a certificate.
And every year, parents not only help, they often take over and do all the work.
The thing is: Not one of these entries, ever, has been the best in the world. None has been perfect or even worthy of hanging in a gallery. It’s not a worldwide absolute competition. It’s relative.
Relative to what you’re capable of.
You’re not running the race against everyone else. More often than not, you’re simply running it against yourself.
[And as long as we’re thinking about the Grateful Pumpkin and seasonal reasons to be thankful, a reminder that in the US, Thanksgiving is in three weeks. The annual Thanksgiving Reader is available for free download and easy at-home printing. Designed by Alex Peck, he and I are offering it to families so that we can create a new tradition. This year more than ever, even if it’s by Zoom.]
Don’t eat cheap chocolate!