What makes this striking is the honest middle ground Van Gogh occupies—he doesn't claim arrival or mastery, only the act of seeking itself. Most of us wait until we feel ready before we commit fully, but he's saying the commitment *is* the seeking, that wholehearted effort doesn't require certainty about the destination. A person learning an instrument or changing careers understands this immediately: the temptation is always to pause until you know you'll succeed, but the only way forward is to go all-in despite that uncertainty.