Go Ahead, Make a Mess!

I have been somewhat of a perfectionist for years, but I'm getting better. That is, I'm getting better at eliminating that need to be perfect. I'll let you know when I perfect it! :) Instead of constantly looking at how I can optimize everything, I have found more and more that imperfection leads to wonderful things. In fact, my latest challenge has been to look at everything that happens in my life and find a way to make it perfect. It's perfect because I learned something that I needed to learn, or it's perfect because it gave me an opportunity I wouldn't have had. It can be quite a game. My wise mother, whom many of you know through past postings, shared this very wise writing with me by Anne Lemott entitled

"Make a Mess, Discover Your Life"

Perfectionism is the voice of the oppressor, the enemy of the people. It will keep you cramped and insane your whole life. I think perfectionism is based on the obsessive belief that if you run carefully enough, hitting each stepping-stone just right, you won't have to die. The truth is that you will die anyway and that a lot of people who aren't even looking at their feet are going to do a whole lot better than you, and have a lot more fun while they're doing it.

Besides, perfectionism will block inventiveness and playfulness and life force (these are words we are allowed to use in California). Perfectionism means that you try desperately not to leave so much mess to clean up. But clutter and mess show us that life is being lived. Clutter is wonderfully fertile ground--you can still discover new treasures under all those piles, clean things up, fix things, get a grip. Tidiness suggests that something is as good as it's going to get. Tidiness makes me think of held breath, of suspended animation.....

See you later, I've got a mess to make!

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