Moments of Perfection

For my birthday, Kristi got me the book "Don't Sweat the Small Stuff ... and it's all small stuff". You think she is trying to tell me something?! Nine pages into the book and bingo: "Make Peace with Imperfection". How appropriate. And I quote:

I've yet to meet an absolute perfectionist whose life was filled with inner peace. The need for perfection and the desire for inner tranquility conflict with each other. Whenever we are attached to having something a certain way, better than it already is, we are, almost by definition, engaged in a losing battle. Rather than be content and grateful for what we have, we are focused on what's wrong with something and our need to fix it.

The proposed solution:

. . . catch yourself when you fall into your habit of insisting that things should be other than they are. Gently remind yourself that life is okay the way it is, right now. In the absence of your judgment, everything would be fine. As you begin to eliminate your need for perfection in all areas of your life, you'll begin to discover the perfection in life itself.

I'm not sure things shouldn't be other than they are right now, after all . . . Jack should be playing and running around, not confined to a wheelchair and hooked to a machine 24/7. Nor am I sure that in the absence of my judgment everything would be "fine".

However, knowing that things will never be my way (the "perfect" way), I recognize the importance of savoring each moment of joy, each moment when things do go according to plans, and the moments when life is calm and uneventful. It is important at those times to recognize that "life is okay the way it is right now, at this MOMENT". By enjoying the moment ... it IS possible to discover perfection in the moment itself. We don't need (or get) a lifetime of "okay; however, the moments of "okay" are enough to sustain us and fill us with inner peace .......... if only for the moment.