Imperfectly Perfect or Perfectly Imperfect….

Hello all.. I am back home now and trying to get settled back in. I hope this means I will be out here more frequently, as it truly is my desire to be in a mode to make changes to my website; to get it to where I want it to be. While I slowly make steps in getting there, I will continue to talk to you about things that appear in my life. Today, I wanted to bring up something that came up a few times while I was on my trip. I am also reminded of it as I watch the goings on in today’s world. What came up was this: the realization that my trying to be perfect in what I do may be an asset, but it can also be a hinderance, and/or even a detriment.

I guess I should start with the definition of perfection. Webster’s Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary defines perfection as “the quality or state of being perfect – flawlessness, completeness, maturity, saintliness, an exemplification of supreme excellence, an unsurpassable degree of accuracy or excellence, the act or process of perfecting”. I ask can anyone even reach this? And if I keep it in my head that I must reach this, and then do not, then how much damage am I doing to myself? Does being perfect even exist in humanity?

Sadly, I am finding that in recognizing others’ talents and thinking I could not surpass theirs, I have not even tried to see what I am capable of. I realized I was doing this while home with “the artists” of the family. Do not think I do not recognize my own artistic talent in the way I write, I do recognize that. While I was home, however, I kept saying I cannot draw and that was because I viewed my siblings perfect artwork. Something, they themselves, would say was totally imperfect. Funny how that is, that we recognize perfection in others and not in ourselves. So while I was there and in a supportive environment, I decided to try to draw. Like them, I see the imperfections in my work. However, because I created it, I am learning to recognize that it is as it should be, and therefore, perfect.

Though I fail at times, I am trying desperately to not say I cannot anymore. Because the more I continue to say I cannot, the more I limit myself, and the more I put aside possibilities. How do I know I cannot? I will only find that out when I try. And guess what, shocking as this may sound, I will always find out that I can. Now it may not be perfect according to yours or anyone else’s standards, and that is okay. It will be perfect for me and my standards and that is all that matters. Just as I say this about myself, so should you. You should always believe that you can, you should try whatever it is you want to try, and most importantly you should realize that if it is perfect for you or to you, that is all that matters.

Now I am not saying, that we should not strive to be the best that we can be, or even that we should not compete for the title of best. I suppose competition can point out to us what our limits might be, or where we might need to improve or add in education. What I am saying is that we should not allow the definition of perfect to stop us from trying all kinds of things, from doing things we want to do, and from being the person we want to be. We will always be imperfectly perfect or perfectly imperfect because we are all human. So go be the perfect person you were created to be.

As always I invite your thoughts, comments, tales, anything you want to add. We can only grow when we decide to share ourselves and our information. With that said, when you are ready, I hope you will leave something for me and others to also think about, and do not worry about it being perfect to anyone else but you.