“Ring the bells that still can ring.  Forget your perfect offering.  There is a crack in everything.  That’s how the light shines in.”  ~ Leonard Cohen

Good Morning!

I don’t know about you, but I found this quote to be a wonderful relief.  We all know perfection isn’t possible, but still so many of us chase it anyway.  This quote encourages us to stop that chase.  As Donna shared in an email to me:

This is one of my very favorite quotes, because it reminds me not only that imperfection is inevitable, but also a blessing, because “that’s how the light shines in.”

My mother is an artist.  I have learned many lessons from her over the course of my life.  One lesson in particular came to mind when I read this quote.  When I was first learning to draw and paint as a young girl, I kept focusing on the “subject” and would quickly get frustrated when my drawing of a deer looked more like an upside-down pickup truck.  My mother encouraged me to stop looking at the “object” and start looking at the “space around it.”  She explained that the physical object was only a small portion of the drawing – the space around the object is what actually defined the lines of the object itself.  It was through that lesson that I began learning to look at the “whole picture” – not just at what was obvious.

When we strive for perfection, we are just looking at the “obvious.”  We quickly discount all the benefits that come from the “whole picture” – from the learning curve, from the mistakes, from the space for imperfection.  It is the “whole picture” that creates a rich life.  It is the “whole picture” that contains the cracks that let the learning and living shine in.

Your Turn:  Today, look past the “obvious” to the “whole picture” of each situation you are in.

Today’s Affirmation:  I look past the obvious and take in the “whole picture.”