It does not have to be perfect....

It is good to remember that one of our goals in life is to not be perfect. We often lose track of this. When we make mistakes, we think that we are failing or not measuring up. But if life is more about the experimenting, experiencing, the learning. When we understand this, life becomes much more interesting and fun. We need to let go of the anxiety that creeps up when we feel we are not feeling good enough and let it go and just have fun. This doesn't mean that we don't strive to be our best. We can simply accept that there is no such thing as perfection -- especially in life. Our life changes more than it stays the same. Perfection may happen in a moment, but it will not last because it is an impermanent state. Trying to hold on to perfection or try to force perfection to happen causes us lots of frustration and unhappiness. Many times, we try something and failed miserably and then we are done. When you think about this, it is really crazy. We all are guilty of not doing something, going somewhere, are trying a new food because of a bad experience. Remember, it did not have to be a perfect experience. Next time, it might be better!

In spite of knowing all this, many of us are still in the habit of trying to be perfect or wanting our experience to be perfect. You might not think of it in this way, but that is what it is. One way to nudge ourselves out of this is to understand that no one is sitting on the side lines yelling at you that you screwed up or not very good! We tend to beat ourselves up when we fail at something or stop doing at all. We simply do not know we are striving for perfection. We become unhappy with ourselves but still might not know or understand the real reason. I think most of us are striving for perfection or an almost perfection. We want an “A”. We give up on dreams, and desires from a bad or unpleasant experience. Maybe it was the diet you went on or the cigarettes that you know you should not be smoking, or maybe it is the exercise program that you just seem to stop. We might have attended a bad play or concert and decided we don’t like plays or concerts. Whatever it is, we do not need to be perfect, and the experience does not need to be perfect. Doing something is still a better choice. Some of us do not do well in crowds, are what we call a little shy, but are we lonely? Just because you grew up being shy does not mean you have to continue to be shy. Get out of your comfort zone and practice being UNSHY. We are still holding on to old thoughts, habits, etc. because we think this is just the way it is. We are afraid to try to be different. I think is it thoughts that if we are not good or great at something, we simply do not do. It is better to fail at something, and learn from, than not to try at all. Sometimes, perfectionism is developed from our childhood -- an ideal we inherited from a demanding schoolteacher or even a parent. We are adults now, and we can choose our own paths and do not need to cast blame on others. I personally feel that is an easy way out. Blame someone else for our own shortcomings. I have many. Did you know that I can bake bread, but my rolls always suck? Hmm. I am not giving up. I am not. I have a big family. They can keep being the guinea pigs. I get very upset with myself when I cannot catch on to a math term or I cannot get the picture located on the document like I want. I find myself talking crap like “why are you so stupid at this”? Oh, this is a big motivator to want to learn🤦‍♀️. That is really going to inspire me to be better😜. I try to push myself to keep doing, learning, trying, and yes, making these crazy mistakes but like I said, no one is sitting on the side lines yelling at me other than myself. Maybe occasionally, Louis might say, “I have shown you this a couple times on how to do, not sure why you have not caught on?”….Yep, that has happened on many occasions, and it is all okay. We just have different levels of strengths in different categories. This is what makes the world go round. We are all different. Yes, some are better than others at things and we need to accept and move on. Again, if something is important to you, keep trying. Do not give up. Keep trying new things, going new places, reading new books, etc..it is never too late. Ever. I don’t want to hear it. Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow is not guaranteed. Remember, we are not striving for perfection, we are okay with B+ or even B- as long as we are enjoying our ride🌻❤

Have you noticed the beautiful fall colors of the trees? I am not sure why our trees this year in Texas our so much prettier than ever this fall! It is so nice to have seasons. We seem to go from 95 degrees to 32 over night.

I have two trees up for Christmas so far. I am usually further along in my decorations. I am practicing not being perfect Lol! I have actually been very busy with finals. Yes, this aging lady is taking classes. It is sometimes comical, but I have mostly enjoyed. If something has challenged my comfort zone, this is it. I am going to have a baking day soon to try some of the new cookie recipes. I hope to share with you. Below is a picture of my Family room tree. I call it the “Gaudy” favorite. It has all of the ornaments that we bought on vacations, given as a gift to me or my children.

Have a beautiful Day!