Morning Motivation: Perfection

A satirical article was published that listed symptoms such as the following: unusually short height, limited cognitive abilities, and impaired social skills. The diagnosis was childhood. We quickly see the humor in the article because the “symptoms” turn out to be perfectly normal for the developmental level of a child. Kids break things, kids struggle to form coherent sentences, kids make some pretty outrageous judgment calls -- all that is perfectly normal. No one argues when someone exclaims, "What a perfectly delightful, perfectly charming, perfect child!" We still make mistakes and do some pretty outrageous things today, but it's a lot harder for us to recognize each other as perfect adults. Instead, adults are expected to be consistently kind, successful, attractive, healthy, intelligent, etc., or there is something wrong with them. It seems that every minute, someone on T.V. is saying, "Oh, you look terrible," or, "That was so stupid,” or my very least favorite sound in the human language, “DUH!” Unless we choose a hermit lifestyle, it’s impossible to avoid the critical messages bombarding us on a daily basis. Some well-meaning parents just teach their children to accept their own imperfection because nobody else is perfect, either. What committee sat down and decided what a "perfect" human being should be? Virtually every word in Webster's definition of perfect is a judgment. It's a judgment of what makes a person "complete" or "pure," "without flaw" or "whole." Can a prostitute paying for her mother's medical bills still be pure? Can a happily married veteran with a prosthesis still be whole? Maybe our judgments of each other are imperfect, not human beings. Milton wrote, "God made thee perfect, not immutable." In other words, we are like perfect children who naturally maintain our shining perfection throughout every changing phase of life. Whether or not the changes we go through are still judged by others as "perfect" is completely irrelevant. Wherever you are in your journey, may you take a moment to remember that at the center of whatever stresses and challenges you are facing is a unique and perfect you! To read other motivational and inspirational thoughts throughout the day, follow me on Twitter: twitter.com/DrDebBrown