I haven’t posted a new article since November 1st and I miss my own writing. I miss sitting down and pondering and thinking, what have I learned this week? What can I share?
Oddly enough, the act of not-writing has taught me how much I love writing.
Does that ever happen if your husband travels? Does the fact that the towels are always perfectly hung instead of that sweet crooked way he likes to leave them start to remind you that crooked isn’t so bad and you would really love some crooked right about now?
The Hubs and I both travel for work from time to time and it’s just enough to understand that whoever said “absence makes the heart grow fonder” must have been truly in love.
What I have learned while I have been away could not possibly be summarized in one blog post, a book or even 3 hour movie with Julia Roberts and Meryl Streep celebrating the ups and downs of womanhood, parenthood and marriedhood.
Ever the eternal optimist, I will give it a whirl:
Imperfect is the New Black is my favorite new motto. I thought I had seen it on Pinterest, but as it turns out, that pin was “love is the new black” which, while a totally awesome thought, is a blog post for another day.
My dear partner in podcasting fame, CJ Blaquera and I recorded a whole fabulous 80 minute instruction guide to surviving the holidays with love and intention – except we forgot to actually record the recording, so we had to do it all over again. You can grab it here for a little holiday inspiration.
I started posting on our Facebook Page and kept forgetting to sign my name (so you never knew who said what). Then once I occasionally signed, I kept posting as myself instead of the page, so you could never actually see the update because it ended up in some nebulous Facebook universe called “recent posts by others.”
I kept repeating to myself over and over again, “Thank God I love bloopers, because I sure am the star of a whole blooper reel this week!”
Embracing imperfection is not the easiest thing to do for a recovering perfectionist, especially embracing mistakes, in public, for the world to see, and your husband to find endlessly amusing.
For the record The Hubs thinks all my bloopers are delightfully entertaining no matter how scrunched my frustrated face gets.
He smiles and says, “That’s great! You are learning!” Then he asks me things like, “What would you tell yourself if you were coaching yourself through this?”
So of course, I have to step back, think deeply and press the compassion button, start the forgiveness engine and say things like, “It’s okay to fail. That’s what happens when you are learning.”
Or “Ships in harbor never run into icebergs,” which is quickly followed by, “The Titanic was 100 years ago, you are not sinking and we have things like satellites and GPS now.”
These are the kinds of thoughts that calm me down. For some odd reason I find satellites and GPS very comforting. It’s like no matter how lost I may feel in my own life, there is a GPS somewhere that will help me find the way out.
And really the mental equivalent of GPS is thinking a new thought or asking a new question that propels me in another direction, which is usually the direction I wanted to go in the first place.
So what do I do with all this imperfectly experienced life? I celebrate it, laugh about it, perhaps wallow for a minute or two and then think, “What’s next?”
December starts Saturday, I get to say goodbye to 2012 and set powerful intentions for 2013. That’s what is next for me.
If you don’t already have a year-end ritual, I hope you will join me as I create a new one for myself this year. There will be bloopers and mix-ups and laughter and learning.
I will be imperfectly posting on as we embark on a new theme, Living Reverently – 31 Days of December De-cluttering.
Together, we let go of physical things in our homes and offices so we can either make space for the new or simply make space to rest our eyes on clear counters and empty corners.
We will be living reverently – honoring our home and soul as we let go of mental blocks that held us back this year or thoughts and attitudes that didn’t help us move forward.
Will you join me?
Have you learned a lesson from your favorite blooper/accident/mishap? Please share in the comments.
To follow our December Journey of Living Reverently and Letting Go, visit http://www.facebook.com/LifeCoachJam and remember to click LIKE to get page updates, inspirational thoughts and the occasional posting blooper and don’t worry, as long as you are laughing *with me* and not *at me* it’s all good.
