“Beyond a wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself.
You are a child of the universe
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.” From Desiderata written by Max Ehrmann in the 1920s
With all the current focus on “being all we can be” and “manifesting all of our desires” many of us feel the burden of perfection looming. Even the adage about striving for excellence rather than perfection can be cold comfort.
Much of the rhetoric of the life coaching movement, still in its infancy I’m afraid, frequently places unabashed attention on the attainment of what is often just out of reach. Somewhat secretly, I find the whole affair exhausting.
What about the somewhat unsexy business of just being. Certainly, as human beings we want to unfold. We want to love more, extend more, express more and connect more. But, an overextended reach towards something we think we should have or be is an exercise in perfectionism and self flagellation.
A wholesome gentle discipline untrammeled by anxiety is often the healthy middle road that feels natural and easy to journey along. A fear based motivation may assure us the attainment of that “thing” yet, leaves us unhappy and strangely unfulfilled. The more we mature the more we find that it is really about the process or the journey not about outcomes. The satisfaction of outcomes is most often too fleeting to derive any ongoing pleasure from.
Most of us realize that any pleasure that we derive from that which can change will be fleeting. Seeking perfection in these forms will always elude us in the long run as by their very nature forms are ephemeral.
© 2010 Jeanine Marie Austin, Ph.D., C.Ht.
Simply Divine Solutions
