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 https://www.instagram.com/virginiagreeneillustration/p/CXv8BGwrm3x/?utm_medium=tumblr
