Perfection Is Impossible but Fun Is...FUN!

Every generation of humans who has ever lived thinks they Know Things For Sure, and they make Big Decisions, Life & Death Decisions, based on these Things They Know For Sure.

And then later, when they are part of history, successive generations inevitably laugh at them.

And each generation thinks they are The Generation Who Actually Does Know Stuff -- unlike those silly generations before us who were obviously delusional.

All of this is a way to get to something that's on my mind: this search for Individual Perfection.
We seem to think that if we could only make a certain, perfect set of choices, we could save the planet, save ourselves, save the whales, save, save, save. In the process, our true agenda, is that we think we will make our own lives longer and better.

If we could only figure out exactly what to eat for dinner...

If we could only figure out exactly what religion or spiritual tradition to follow...

If we could only figure out exactly what mantra to repeat daily, hourly, by the minute...

If we could find the right guru...

the right date book...

the right partner...

the right life.

Everything could be Perfect, If Only.

If you think you aren't looking for perfection, ask yourself why you are so determined to find labels to define who you are. These are shorthand to let other seekers of perfection know you are in the club, and they are usually a red flag.

Labeling yourself is all about being afraid to be yourself. Afraid that you aren't good enough. Afraid that you might make a mistake, miss out on something, not be understood.

Afraid that you might Die Not Having lived.

But the only path to full living is the one of releasing labels -- letting go of rules that help you to feel comfortable and safe.

Admitting to your imperfection and having a little, freaking Fun.

I am imperfect. How about you?

I don't do yoga every day. Hell! Sometimes I skip whole entire weeks.

I can eat so much food that I feel like I'm going to vomit and then I complain that I am overweight.

I am vain! So there.

I still watch way too much TV even though I don't have a TV.

I LOVE CHEESE! I WANT TO MARRY IT!

Sometimes I get so mad that I yell. Loud. I can be mean.

I swear like a fucking sailor.

I am impatient.

I get annoyed.

I make fun of people. Yes. I. do.

This Search for Perfection, I think, is making us all so Grouchy and WAY NOT FUN.

MORE FUN!

Joie de Vivre!

La Bella Vita!

Laughing and loving is the way to happiness.

Giggling until you are crying.

Being unafraid to try something new and look stupid.

Loving food and not seeing it as medicine or the enemy or the Fountain of Life but simply as one of the greatest, sensual joys a human can experience.

Riding your bike to work because it makes you smile, not because it makes you feel like you are one of the Good Ones.

Doing yoga or dancing or just playing with a hoola hoop because human bodies were made to enjoy moving and stretching and jumping and bouncing.

Gardening because you love putting your hands in the dirt and not because you think the world is going to end and you have to feed yourself.

Feeling all of your emotions -- even the big and ugly ones because feeling emotions means you are Human.

Being imperfect, sloppy, beautiful, pissy, happy, joyful, grouchy, ecstatic, and filled with Awe and Wonder and Curiosity.

Being all of these things because they are what you are -- not because some movement or book tells you it's The Thing To Know.

(Disclaimer: PUH-Lease...this is NOT about being some care-for-no-one-but-yourself asshole. It's about freeing YourSELF from the tyranny of rules and definitions and not comparing yourself to others and defining your life by their expectations and assumptions.)

(Photo & Text Credit: Christine C. Reed, blisschick.net, 2009, Cleveland Market)