During the Renaissance in the 1500s, after two years of work, Michaelangelo finished carving his iconic 17-foot marble statue of King David. It became a cultural symbol for Florence at the time and is now arguably the most renown sculpture in human history. Upon completion, he was later asked how he created such a remarkably beautiful work. He responded by saying,” I saw in the marble an angel, and I carved until I set him free.”
The story of one of the worlds most renown sculptures is a beautiful metaphor for what takes place in our own lives when we reach for our potential.
Like I mentioned in last week's post, we make our way to our personal destiny by walking. By chipping away a step at a time. By facing "the resistance," as Steven Pressfield beautifully puts in his book, "The War of Art." (which I highly recommend if you feel like fear and procrastination are holding you back).
Our work matters.
We’re not putting forth such efforts of the soul to check off a weekly task, nor are we going to coaching or therapy because we're "broken", or because we "have to."
We chip away because we know there’s more within us, because we see a masterpiece in the marble, because there's no denying that we’re capable of becoming more than we are right now.
You may feel like you're not getting anywhere, but if you're putting in the work, chip by chip, your masterpiece is forming.
Day by day, your potential is being set free.