Episode Eight

All my work is of the highest quality. This is true, right? When we remember that mistakes are learning opportunities, and that we’re practicing patience, then we understand that “highest quality” may not actually equal “perfection,” which is what I used to think. I’ve always admired the Navajo rug weavers who purposefully made mistakes in their work, at least one, so that it was understood that only the Great Spirit could evoke perfection. It was then an act of the highest respect for both one’s own work and the Great Creator to admit that perfection was never the goal.

Letting go of perfection is the first step towards being aligned with the notion of “highest quality” in my opinion. Then what our goal becomes is “I’m doing my very best,” followed by, “and that is the highest quality.” Craftsmen know that we are not mechanical beings and that the little flaws that occur along the way are exactly what makes each piece unique and ultimately valuable. Artists know that each mistake leads to a new perspective of a work. I have always aspired to live a hand-made life and that necessarily accepts and expects imperfection, that becomes special to the heart and soul.

Episode Four

Any mistakes I make are merely stepping stones on my pathway. What are mistakes? This question is so important for a perfectionist to ask because the feeling of abject horror at making a mistake is real. I've learned bad habits in my life, mistakes in and of themselves, that tell me that mistakes I make define me and prove that I am worthless, that my dreams are mistakes, that someone else, anyone else can do it better than me. So mistakes are a real issue and feel not like stepping stones. So how can I say "Any mistakes I make are merely stepping stones on my pathway," when I'm sure those stepping stones are going to be slippery and prove than I can't even walk on the pathway? Phew.

I believe rethinking mistakes completely might be the ticket for me. I am determined to simply see them as learning experiences, so that if I slip I can get up again. What if the whole danged pathway is filled with stepping stones...what if the mistakes are ultimately the path that leads me to self-realization? Then the inevitability of mistake after mistake happening is unavoidable, as I truly do believe, but not terrible. What did James Joyce say? "Mistakes are the portal to discovery."

Some of the mistakes I’ve made are so monumental that they’ve changed whole families, multiple families, forevermore. Reconciling those learning experiences can be a challenge, but it seems a must. The pathway is littered with them, and they're all golden somehow if they are the pathway itself. Those mistakes are indeed the yellow brick road. If I'm going to celebrate being on a new path then I could even treasure each mistake that trips me up as a reminder that I'm on the path to self-realization. Tell me, does this make sense or am I just talking silly talk?