Silencing the Voices

Once upon a time there was a little girl who loved to draw. She would draw and draw and show her papa her pictures. He’d smile and say, "That’s lovely dear."

Then she grew older and she showed more people. Some gasped in wonder, but others frowned and made suggestions about how she could do better. She wanted everyone to admire her drawings, so she changed and tweaked and worked her pictures with a bit of advice from here and there, until the picture wasn’t hers anymore, but just a whole collection of ‘theirs’.

She sat down one day and cried, because she didn’t know what she wanted. Drawing wasn’t fun anymore. She threw the pictures away in a rage.

Years passed without any pictures at all. Her fingers itched to draw and her life felt empty, but she was afraid. What if it wasn't good enough? Someone would point out its flaws.

One day, frustrated, she took a big breath and told all the voices to shut up. She sat down and sharpened her pencil, then she closed her eyes. She drew without looking or criticizing, but just let the picture in her heart flow onto the page.

When she opened her eyes, she found an angel with a mysterious smile staring back. It was the most beautiful thing she’d ever drawn. At first, the girl wondered how she could be capable of creating something so moving, but as she looked closer, she saw signs of the things she'd learned. All her teachers and friends, and even complete strangers, were melded together in a pure expression of love.

The girl framed the picture and kept it on a wall in her lounge to remind her that life is a journey. People want to help, and you can learn a lot by listening, but in the end you have to trust yourself.