Living abundantly with imperfection
I recently committed to meditating every day for 30 days. My focus is on recognizing and honoring the abundance in my life. I found a guided meditation that really resonated with me. So I create time every day to listen to it and sink into that clear space that I love so much. The first time I listened to it, I heard the speaker fumble two words. Yes...I focused right away on those two mistakes. In fact, I cannot go without noticing the two mistakes. I'm about half way through the 30 days and I'm beginning to understand that this meditation is far more important to me than just living with an abundance mindset. It's teaching me how you can live an amazing life while allowing, and even embracing, imperfection.
Our culture teaches us from a young age that you should be as perfect as possible. We are judged daily and even graded on this in school. So why wouldn't we be working to embody this trait in all that we do as adults?
I'm here to remind you what I am patiently learning (again and again)...nothing is perfect. NOTHING. So knowing that, let's begin to reframe how we can show up in them most authentic way. You may have read or listened to Brené Brown. She has done an incredible amount of work researching and educating on this topic. Here is an excerpt from her book, The Gifts of Imperfection:
Authenticity is the daily practice of letting go of who we think we're supposed to be and embracing who we are.
Choosing authenticity means:
cultivating the courage to be imperfect, to set boundaries, and to allow ourselves to be vulnerable;
exercising the compassion that comes from knowing that we are all made of strength and struggle; and
nurturing the connection and sense of belonging that can only happen when we believe that we are enough.
Authenticity demands Wholehearted living and loving - even when it's hard, even when we're wrestling with the shame and fear of not being good enough, and especially when the joy is so intense that we're afraid to let ourselves feel it.
Mindfully practicing authenticity during our most soul-searching struggles is how we invite grace, joy, and gratitude into our lives.
May you to find the courage to show up in whatever way feels most authentic to you, imperfections and all. The more we embody this, the more we give others permission to do the same.