Ever since he was young, the artist Paul Jackson made it a weekly habit to visit the great painter Thomas Laurent in his studio.
When Laurent became crippled with arthritis, Jackson started visiting him daily, bringing food, paintbrushes, and paints, always trying to convince the master that he was working too hard and needed to take some rest.
One day, while observing Laurent’s every brushstroke accompanied by groans of pain, Jackson couldn’t remain silent any longer.
“Master,” he said, “your body of work is already vast and significant. Why continue to torture yourself like this?”
Laurent, with a calm smile, responded, “It’s very simple—beauty remains, but the pain will eventually pass.”