I found a little forgotten gem for you today.

Center detail of this mid-sized oil on canvas

As I was going through my old painting folders on my laptop, I found this 2013 painting which I called "Road less traveled".

I really like this painting because it's so rare from my own personal perspective. It's quite a dark and mystical painting and nothing similar to what I paint now, and more importantly not really similar to what I was panting back in 2013 either. That's why I perceive it as "rare", at least for me.

That painting has a story. And I wrote the core message of that story on top of this painting when I was publishing it online back in the day.

The interesting thing about it is that I found two pictures of this painting - one with the story on top and one without it. That part is not interesting. But when I looked at it closer, I realized that there is a slight difference in the the pictures. One has a tree on the top of the hill and the other one depicts a volcano eruption at the very same spot.

The whole painting including the sky. But was this the final version?

What is mystifying for me is that for the heck of me I can't remember which version was final . If the one with the volcano or the one with the tree. I can't just go and look, because the painting is long sold and gone. But now that I found out, curiosity got the best of me-
I WOULD LOVE TO KNOW! :)

The volcano had its reason. I am inclined to believe that the final version was the one with the tree and the volcano is hidden under layer of oil paint, which I kinda like, it makes it even more mysterious. The reason for the volcano was quite obvious: it represents Passion.

Passion is the fuel to walk towards your dream, following the "Road less traveled". And passion is like an erupting volcano. It comes from within, it is scorching hot, and it has the power to melt away any obstacle in its way. It can be devastating but it can be lifegiving too...

The story that I wrote on top is mine and 5 years later I still see the truth in it.
It goes like this:

In life you will be constantly confronted by two choices: follow your heart or do the reasonable thing.

One is about being brave and living up to your dream and the second one is about surviving for the sake of convenience and satisfaction of other people's vision of yourself... One day you'll be dying and I am pretty sure you will look back at your life. I wish that in that moment you have no regrets about your past choices.

If it was just for today, BE UNREASONABLE and do what you feel not what you think you should do.

I understand that this is a very fine line to walk and the safest way not to cross it to the territory of selfishness, remember the golden rule: step on nobody on your way up. If it is the true way of your heart (and not ego in disguise of a heart), it will harm nobody and benefit the whole.

How many of us are working unfulfilling jobs or staying in relationships that do not make us happy because we think this is the only way? How many of us buried our dreams because we thought that we can't make a living out of them?

I hope that today's story inspired you a bit.

Now go and be that volcano!!

Thank you very much for reading, commenting, upvoting and resteeming!

<3

Much Love,

Jan
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