Say Yes to the Blue Alpaca

I've been working so hard that my new handcrafted leather sketchbook book from Iona, which I bought at the Ann Arbor Art Fair, has felt neglected. I did what any desperate drawer would do (besides climb inside a drawer) and drew a blue alpaca.

The quote at the bottom of the page is something that struck me from a recent interview with Arnold Schwarzenegger. As far as I know, his position in no way represents alpacas, blue or otherwise, but it resonated with me. He speaks of how he "Never heard 'no' as 'no'" in terms of achieving goals. He always just heard "yes."

So many of us take to the no-means-no lesson when we are kids. This makes things easier for adults, of course. But there comes a time when we should learn either to disregard others' nos or simply to turn them into yeses. It would be great if we learned that gradually, say in our early adulthood. But anytime is fine.