Seeker

How do you cope with disappointment? Disappointment is a common human experience. I would be surprised if you could honestly say you have never experienced it. Not unless you have never done anything, never tried anything new, never supported a football team, never loved anyone, never had any dreams or hopes. Disappointment is a normal response to failure, either your own or someone else's. You can be disappointed in yourself. You failed an exam, to get the job, reach work targets or achieve the desired promotion. You broke a promise. You let down your colleagues, friend or relative. You are disappointed in yourself. You know something of how Peter felt after denying he knew Jesus. You can be disappointed in other people. You may blame others for your disappointment. “They” did not do what you wanted. “They” did not do what they should have done or promised. “They” have failed. You are disappointed in them, reluctant to trust them again. You know something of...

How do you measure success? By most standards the efforts of the Victorian Royal Navy Captain and missionary Allen Gardiner to evangelize indigenous peoples of South America was a miserable failure.  His last unsuccessful missionary journey (1850-1851) was an attempt to reach the Yaghans of Tierra del Fuego who were then known as a violent people. Gardiner was accompanied by only 3 Cornish fishermen, a doctor, a ship-carpenter and a catechist. From a base in the Falkland Islands they were landed at Picton Island with enough supplies for 6 months. A combination of mistakes, logistical problems, dreadful weather and Yaghan hostility led to the disease and death of the whole party. No replenishment supplies arrived due to lack of a ship. One by one they died of starvation. Gardiner was the last to die. He wrote his final diary entry on 6 September 1851. When the group of bodies were found a few weeks later, Gardiner's diary was in his hand. It includes the words, "let not t...

I was full of hopeful expectation. This time I would create a painting I wouldn't be too ashamed to show in the art class exhibition in August. I love wet-in-wet watercolour landscapes, so was pleased that was what we worked on in the "Watercolour Improvers" class this week. I started with a photo like this, by Iain Macaulay taken in 2007 at St Fergus Links, Aberdeenshire. I assembled my watercolours for a wet-in-wet painting. I liberally soaked the paper in clean water as instructed by my tutor. I tentatively dropped in phthalo blue, raw sienna, raw umber to create my interpretation of sky, sea, sand dunes and grasses. The lesson was about moving the paint around the paper while still wet, learning both to control and go with the flow. The tutor had made it look so easy in her demonstration. I was so disappointed with my efforts. The tutor took pity on my cry of 'this isn't working' and with my permission picked up my biggest brush and continued ...