Some
time ago I was in a coffee shop, bent over my laptop, busy working on yet another
edit of my young adult novel. A person I knew wandered by and upon hearing
about my current rewrite, remarked, "You really have perseverance!" I
wasn't sure if that was a compliment or if it reflected a certain unwillingness
to quit or give up in the face of what could be mediocre ability or skill.
This
last month my journal had an interesting page heading, (to whom it would be
attributed, I don't know), that read, "Patience is a skill, perseverance
an art."
An
interesting reflection. What is the difference between a skill and an art? Between
patience and perseverance?
I
envision a skill as that which can be
practiced, studied, learned over time, somewhat perfected, fine tuned. Now, an art? That seems a little more complex.
Art
is a mixture of gift, time, attention, inspiration, and also skill. Art can
only be somewhat taught or learned; much of it is an expression of the self,
different from the performing of a skill, although it can be practiced, it is
unfettered, free, a gift of the muse.
So
where does that leave perseverance? Is it an art or a skill or maybe both?
Patience
seems to allude to an attitude toward things we cannot change, circumstances we
face, often without choice. Is this where a “learned skill” is helpful and
necessary, as we learn to better undertake certain tasks or situations thrust
upon us?
So
then, is perseverance a creative choice and a type of drivenness? Is it at
times valuable or desirable? It is nice for me to think of my sticking to the
process of novel writing as an art. I also hope I have developed more skill in
telling an engaging story over the years. The act of setting thoughts and
dreams into words, and editing and re-editing has sharpened my skills as a
writer.
Is
perseverance a gift? Or a curse of sorts? Hard to say. I know people I would
call good writers. But many of them don't often write to be published. Are they
smarter than me as to the true time and challenges of writing and being read?
Are they more realistic? Or do they have other projects they'd rather pursue?
I'm
not sure if the answer is obvious. But those of us engaged in writing to be
read and/or long term writing projects or other consuming projects cannot but
occasionally stop and wonder if our time and effort is well spent. We see many
around us who stop, don't start or do other things with their time. How do we
answer the riddle, "Is our time well spent? Is the art of perseverance
well directed or are we pulled forward by an artistic muse that does not count
the cost?"