Van Gogh's - First Drawing (Canal 1873) after falling from his Vocation as a Preacher

Van Gogh's first drawing called "Canal" drawn in 1873. After the painful failure of his first chosen vocation as a new age working class preacher he turned to drawing and art as a second choice. He had previously worked as an art dealer for 6 years before trying his hand at religion. Even though "Canal" is a modest work by an artist with no training (Van Gogh was largely self-taught I believe until his death in 1890) you can still see glimpses of his trademark style the very dna of all his later works flow from the river of his first sketch, the original.

The Role of the Parent & Raising Children

As our loving parents raise us and we mature hopefully we come to realize a parent for what they really are, old children who also have hopes and dreams, that maybe have even put off, forgotten or delayed because of ones very existence. You see some of the best adults that raise children often priortize a childs development over what may deem trivial aspirations to distinguish themselves from the rest of the adult population in arts, music commerce, etc "raising above the masses" as Nietzsche would say.

And with this being said it's my view that only the greatest parents begin to dream again once there children are fully grown or deemed strong enough to look after themselves (roughly if ever). Sadly many mothers and fathers fall into the trap of only being able to dream through their children, when a child is young that's pretty normal but as they mature it becomes destructive to a child the older they get.

A parents and a childs dreams are distinct and it is wise for them to remain so for the ultimate satisfaction of all parties. A true sense of fufuliment can only come from the arduous journey of following ones own dreams, the role of the parent's is therefore to teach there children this one rule of human happiness.