Recently, a child commented on my latest painting with contempt, saying: “What is this? Where did you see a dandelion growing in a shell?” She said almost the same thing a friend of mine commented a few days earlier. The comments resonated with the message that I tried to depict: growth and transformation often occur in the least likely people and places. If you've recently been treated with contempt, today's message is meant for you. 

When I was six, my father taught me to swim. As we were playing, he suddenly tossed me into the deep water and turned his back, walking away. I panicked and shouted at him while frantically swimming toward the shallower area of the beach. When I challenged him about not informing me of his unconventional teaching approach, he replied, "I was confident you could manage it. If you're someone who's learning something new but feels fearful and keeps asking, "What if...," today's