Kahlo’s statement ultimately proposes an ethic: instead of asking life to satisfy longing directly, translate the longing into practice and production. That doesn’t deny pain; it gives pain a job. In doing so, you create conditions where responses become possible—mentors appear, audiences gather, skills accumulate, and your own understanding deepens.
Finally, the phrase “begin to answer” acknowledges time. The world rarely responds instantly, but craft compounds. Each attempt clarifies the signal, and clarity invites reply. What starts as yearning becomes a conversation—first with the medium, then with other people, and eventually with the wider world. [...]
