The Rainstorm in...

I see that stark shades of dark blue fill the background of the canvas. A stormy sky is depicted in layers of different shades of blue, that start out as light blue clouds from the top to darker blue as the sky nears ground level. And at the surface, a rocky meadow stretches across, only to have a defoliated tree falling with the result of an oncoming storm. The work serves to express the sudden oncoming of a rainstorm: it seems as though the clear, light blue sky is abruptly substituted by rainy storm clouds, which are painted in dark blue. A careful observation of the meadow will show splashes of rain. The mud beneath the grass has taken up more than enough water, soon allowing the rain to flood the meadow. The tree, unable to withstand the storm, falls onto a barricade of rocks between it and the meadow. The vigor and energy of the image is heightened only by the existence of a clear blue sky: without it, the image would merely have been another depiction of a rainstorm. The simultaneous presence of tranquility and a devastating storm adds meaning to each and every detail of the painting. We can see that the meadow will never again relish the tranquility it stood under, for the defoliated tree will never stand strong again and the grasses will never be so healthily green after the rainstorm.

Delay of Gratification

Life is like a box of chocolates, said some boy in that movie, Forrest Gump. Truly, that is something everyone can concur with. But not all of those chocolates are sweet. Some are sweet, but most are not. Some are bitter, black, and foul in taste. An assortment even comes with different size, shape, not to mention flavor. We can likewise laugh in triumph and satisfaction, or grimace in pain and failure. And in the mist of these crossroads of emotions and mixed feelings are expectations and goals. Whether it is scoring in your first soccer game, getting an A in your chemistry test, or counting down the days till Christmas, goals remain as goals to be achieved, and goals remain as profound sources of happiness and satisfaction when we achieve those goals. But I can daresay that these goals have different degrees of happiness and satisfaction involved. It is hard to describe in words the entirety of the concept of delay of gratification. The longer we wait for something, the happier we are when we get that or achieve that. But I recently realized something. I realized that sometimes, the excitement of the anticipation and the expected happiness that comes just at the moments before the actual “thing” itself is sometimes more sensational. Sometimes, it just so adds up to be that the actual “thing” is not really as good as what it expected to be. In that case, the moments leading up to that, the hours, days, or weeks waiting for that “thing” to take place is more worthy. This unorthodox form of delay of gratification can be used to tell what really is worth it for you. If the happiness and satisfaction of that actual “thing” exceeds that of which you get from the moments leading up to that, then voila, your pursuit was well rewarded and for good reason and purpose.