Progress in hindsight

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I look back at the 2 1/2 years that I have been doing watercolor - from the very beginning, when I was scared, afraid of failure, and didn’t even want to start. Today, I can see that I have made progress. In that moment, when I was painting, I was struggling, and the struggles seemed never to end. The result was never as good as in my imagination. But I look back at my paintings, remembering the earliest ones, and I can see that there are jumps and improvements between clusters of paintings. I can measure my progress, but in hindsight. This reminded me of a quote:
Life must be lived forwards, yet understood backwards.
         Søren Kierkegaard 

 These are Sharon's orchids yet again, with more playful hues.

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