Beauty sometimes requires work to find it

It happens too often when you're undertaking something as large as a dissertation that to other people it sounds like it's nothing but trouble.

But that's not true.

There are times when it is beautiful.

There are times when you can see through the thick clouds out across the darkness to find something that satisfies your desire for a well turned phrase.

Like when you know there's a problem with part of a chapter and you know it needs to change but you have no idea how to do it. So you mess around with the paragraph(s), rewriting, tweaking, but all the while knowing that it isn't what you want. Hell, it isn't even good. And you get frustrated, yes, and that's usually the time when you hear it on a facebook update or in this blog.

But then, oh, then, you come across something. Maybe it's an idea that comes to you while you're washing dishes or running errands. Or you're flipping through notes or books you've read. And you get an idea. And that idea almost stops your breath because it seems just so ideal. And you fear that when you work it out, it won't be as perfect as it seems in that moment. But it's the idea that's going to fix that problem you have. Whether it fixes it beautifully, or just plain fixes it doesn't matter. The fact is, you've hit upon a solution for that problem paragraph that's been bugging you for days (maybe weeks!).

And it turns out to be exactly what you were looking for.

That's a thing of beauty.