Moving forward despite challenges....a little rant

In my mind many are in a time of big transition and challenges. Where some are losing dreams and homes and lives, others are struggling with that which is more ethereal -feelings and emotions.
I have found for myself that difficulties provide ripe ground for change. With the attitude of moving forward even a time of suppression or depression can motivate. Our self made wisdom springs us forward.

Yet in doubt a person of worth will trust their own wisdom.   TOLKEIN

As an artist in the visual arts, I have had many challenges in my life. Now is my time to move forward, to take risks and to forge new directions despite the outcomes.
Approaching new galleries, leaving old patterns, using new mediums and entering competitions is intuitive for me at this point of my life. As illogical a time it may appear according to the news!

I suppose most artists do this when they are younger and fresher out of the doorways of college or high school. For me, who has had so many set backs and failures it is coming later in life.

When an artist approaches new venues to push their work forward into, it is personal. How can one be an observer when that which you create is so dug from the subconscious of who you are? Learning to accept and detach from rejection -an inevitable part of any big shift- can be such a tricky and wonderful lesson. I like to think that when I don't make it into that gallery or that new potential its merely the wrong fit but certainly worth the effort.

Sometimes a little denial is necessary to forge ahead. A gentle fog to block the harsh realities all around. So I always build up a bit of steam, even a bit of fantasy in my head to move into new fields of experience.
A single dream is more powerful than a thousand realities. TOLKEIN
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And to never stop hoping, approaching and changing. I believe that the definition most suitable for hope is that what you dream of is coming, just don't stop dreaming it.

Hope is the thing in feathers that perches in the soul and sings the tune without the words and never stops at all. Emily Dickinson

​Lastly I want to say something about my own doubt. What is it to be an artist? Sometimes I think that making things that are stagnant and gather dust is a pointless direction but the compulsion to make is still there feeding me image after image.

No matter how many people say absurdities like, 
'you are so talented!', or 'that is so beautiful I wish I could have/buy it', 'I don't have a creative bone in my body'...
...the final deciding thoughts on oneself and their craft is the only opinion that counts. The words and thoughts echoing thru my brain are the ones most affecting me physically and psychically. 
It can be confusing to have the voices of society, a capitalist social consciousness society in many aspects, speaking its drudgery in my senses. It takes a strong will and a wise person to break those bonds and know what is best for oneself.