Photo taken by Brit in Maastricht (August 2009)

Just a note there's a really lively discussion about success VS failure on my Facebook "like" page right now. Feel free to weigh in either on Facebook or by posting a comment on this blog post.

I had posted "Nothing ventured, nothing gained. How do you know if something will be a success or failure if you don't try?"

The long and short of it is that you have nothing to lose by trying. NOTHING!

Here are excerpts of some of my comments from the discussion. (You can read the compelling comments from others on Facebook):

Success (to me) is a very wide spectrum, and I consider failure as not trying at all. So in my own way I've created a 100% success rate even if I don't 100% achieve the goal I set out with because I always learn something.

The cool thing about "failure is not trying" is that you can always reverse the so-called failure the moment you decide to try. So you're always guaranteed a "success" (at least, to my way of thinking).

Oh, and I'm thinking that just because one isn't good at something the first go-round doesn't mean they can't get good at it later - with some practice. That's how I am at graphic design. I might be reasonably adept now, but 8 years ago...not so. I just put a lot of practice hours in, thanks to a passion to learn.

I feel that the creativity "muscle" likes to be worked, and passion is what gets it to move. 

I've recently come to the conclusion that after all the challenges Armand & I've gone thru in recent years (and are still experiencing), the one thing I've decided to take with me is my sense of humor (yes, I DO have one tho I rarely let it show) and my sense of wonder and amusement. 

When the whole world is falling down around you, there's something comical in it all, no? I find it empowering to laugh in the face of it all. It's true freedom. ♥ ♥ ♥

Once we get back to a childhood sense of wonder and discovery, everything becomes fun again...and possible. And what we were taught in school about coloring inside the lines no longer applies. You can color ANYWHERE you want to! :-)

The past few weeks I've been reminded again and again to surrender to my heart, each time a little bit deeper. And I've been reminded to stay in the present and not to concern myself with tomorrow or yesterday.

Having said that, I will share with you what I was up to yesterday. You can see from the photos that I was out with Armand filming a 2011 Toyota Auris hybrid out in Rotterdam's harbor amongst power plants, container ships, and windmills. It was a great day, and I was so impressed with the car that I would actually consider to buy one.