Let's Challenge ourselves - make our lives a Masterpiece.
Instructions for life and living it.

Life is a poem you can tuck into your pocket like a compass, a spellbook, or a quiet dare to yourself.
π Instructions for a Masterpiece of a Life

Awaken before your doubts do.
Let the morning find you unguarded, breathless...
be the soft wet clay, ready for molding.
Always Carry a question in your pocket.
Not the kind that demands an answer,
but that which keeps you awake to wonder.
Walk toward what scares you a little.
Masterpieces are carved from the edges
where comfort ends and courage begins.
Honor the small rituals.
The way you tie your shoes,
the way you smile as you greet the day,
the way you inhale and breathe before speaking -
these are nature's brushstrokes.
Listen more than you speak.
Every person is a living, breathing library
and you are always overdue for a visit.
Let your failures compost gracefully.
Turn them over gently.
Allow them to feed the roots of your becoming.
Choose beauty even when it feels foolish.
For even a flower in a cracked cup
still knows how to bloom.
Hold your joy with both hands.
It is not fragile -
it is simply rare.
Forgive yourself the unfinished chapters.
A masterpiece is never complete,
only continually revised by living.
And when the night descends,
sit with your own heart
as if it were a guest you love -
ask it what it needs -
and listen without rushing.
π
βHow to Make a Life That Makes Itselfβ
Begin before you begin.
Wake before your doubts do -
this is the first brushstroke,
the one that teaches the hand
how to lift itself again tomorrow.
β From waking comes wondering.
Carry a question that carries you.
Never answering,
but always widening the doorway
through which your courage walks.
β Wondering ushers walking.
Walk toward the trembling edge.
Where comfort ends,
your real shape begins -
a silhouette carved by risk.
β Walking into ritual.
Tend the small rituals.
Tie your shoes thankfully,
greet the day like a guest,
breathe - your breath is a paintbrush.
β Ritual becomes listening.
Listen as if the world were whispering.
In Every library...
every silence a chapter
you havenβt learned to read yet.
β Listening becomes compost.
Let your failures rot beautifully.
Turn them over,
let them warm the soil...
the dark that feeds your roots.
β From compost comes beauty.
Choose beauty even when it feels foolish.
A dying flower can still bloom
if you let it hold the light.
β Beauty becomes joy.
Hold joy with both hands.
It's not fragile -
only rare,
and made rarer by neglect.
β Joy becomes forgiveness.
Forgive the unfinished.
A masterpiece isn't a destination
it's a revision
that keeps revising you.
β From forgiveness comes return.
Return to the beginning.
Sit with your heart at night,
ask it what it needs,
and listen -
this is how you awake
before your doubts do.
β And the circle begins again.
About the Creator
Novel Allen
You can only become truly accomplished at something you love. (Maya Angelou). Genuine accomplishment is not about financial gain, but about dedicating oneself to activities that bring joy and fulfillment.

Comments (10)
This was so positive, uplifting, and beautiful. You nailed this challenge!
I love the idea of making our lives a masterpiece! Some very wise words here :-)
Drenched with beauty & anointing! This is a masterpiece & a blue ribbon Winner my friend! Go gurl! You're bringin that heat in 2026! π₯This certainly brought warmth to my soul! Happy 2026 No No! π«ΆπΎππ₯³
Great program for life, Novel!
This is phenomenal, Novel. ππ
nice and wise-awesome entry to challenge
Lots of wisdom packed in here.
Interesting concept and love the way you express it
Happy New Year Novelπ
Oh, this is like a prayer ode to the self. I do need that masterpiece now. much to ponder. So u[lifting. N.