2 years of encouragement

The other day, my blog was 2 years old. I can never remember the beginning without a feeling of deep gratitude towards all of you who have been following my first steps and encouraging me to keep going. I started blogging in a phase of frustration about my art, no sales, no feedback; I thought it was wasted talent; knowing that there are so many talented people out there was not much comfort. I decided to follow an advice of my buddhist teachers which is named "rejoicing about other's merit". This means: To be happy about what others achieve, as if it was your own achievment. The result of this training is that real interest grows in the work and life of others. At the same time, the importance of one's own self will decrease. I needed that! A big ego can just as well be boasting as reproaching oneself; the source is the same, it is the expectation of success and happiness for oneself. Reading your blogs has shown me the tremendous amount of talent out there, to see that I have a right to play my violin in this orchestra, and helped me to see my own work in a realistic way. Thank you all!