9/28 re-post “Live imperfectly with great delight”

This is the quote on my T-shirt that was donated by Curly Girl Designs to the Creative Connection Event — in a box “containing peace and love” :-). For a perfectionist like me, it is a great reminder that not everything has to be perfect.

Like this blog.

People have been encouraging me to start a blog for a while now, and as a writer and journaler, blogging should come naturally to me. However, while I do live with great delight, expressing that delight on the web needs to somehow be done ‘perfectly’.

That’s not how life is, is it? Attending the Creative Connection Event was one of my highlights of this year. I’d been living toward this event ever since it was first announced nine months ago. The guest speakers included some of my heroes whom I aspire to emulate, people who are living their dreams and have already taken the plunge into a creative lifestyle.

But in the course of the three days, the revelation came to me that no matter how many copies of their books have been sold, regardless of how often they are featured in the pages of magazines, how many brushes with fame they had, or how much their products are in demand, these women are … women. They are human, down to earth people who juggle just as much as us ‘regular’ people.

The responses of the panelists about ‘how to make it’ were as varied as their personalities and their business models. They struggled, they persevered, they made mistakes, they kept on keeping on, and eventually they achieved success. Some became successful or ‘popular’ by trial and error, while others actively researched strategies and sought out promotion opportunities. Ultimately, as diverse as our creativity, our self-expression, and our lives are, so are our paths toward our true destiny.

And guess what, they are still continuing to figure things out! While us aspiring creative business owners were in awe of these “celebrities”, they too expressed a need to determine their future. They may have “arrived” in our eyes, but they are searching for the next chapter in their lives, too.

So yes, I must live IMperfectly with great delight. Because striving for perfection and not achieving it will rain on my parade, and life is just too full of lovely experiences to allow that to happen. Listening to these talented women, interacting with creatives from all over the country, and attending workshops in which every person made something entirely unique showed me that perfection is in the eye of the beholder.

We are our own worst critics. Someone pointed out a tiny glitch to me that I had noted in passing but didn’t pay much mind to. To that person, it was a glaring mistake. I told that person no one would notice. If anyone did, I doubt it had any effect on their enjoyment of the conference.

We have to extend such kindness to our own imperfections as well. Is it annoying when it could have been avoided? Yes. Will it impact our enjoyment of the rest of our lives? Only if we let it.

“Live imperfectly with great delight.” Just like I learned to accept my stick-straight hair a long time ago, I shall take Curly Girl’s advice and delight in everything I experience. That begins with my perception of each day.

May you too delight in the imperfection called life, and fill it with peace and love.

PS: I’m figuring out this blog posting thing and as a ‘page’ this disappeared, so it’s a repost for historian’s sake 🙂