The Palette-Hope Analogy

If you choose to believe that you are “a failure in all aspects of your life,” you’ll only come up with a gloomy painting with colors, all dark and dreary. But then there are bright colors in the palette, you see them and wonder how they’d appear on canvas. So you risk and try out those gaudy colors. As you continue daubing, you gradually gain an appreciation of the transformation unfolding right before your eyes. The dark colors are your letdowns while the bright ones are your triumphs. The palette contains hope. If you hold onto the palette and endeavor with its different colors; that is, if you persist despite the obscurities, your faith will see you through.

[originally addressed to a friend]