Thursday, March 16, 2017

Progress v. perfection

It seems as if the more good things we do, the more obstacles rise up to meet us. The messiness of life. However, I will say that the more good things we are able to do, the more vision I have. The more I see how it's good to cling onto those few good things we do every now and then, amidst the turbulence of life's messiness and our weakness/laziness.

We have been getting to some weekday masses more often, we played pictionary as a family which was really fun and Addie has been painting more and watching fewer youtube videos (guilty as charged). But the pushback to these few good things is imense. The house, and especially kitchen, is constantly out of control, we got our car wheel clamped when we parked at the wrong place for the pediatrician, and yesterday all three of us were stuck in our apartment building's elevator for about 20-30 minutes. Which seemed like much, much longer.

January Donovan's video "Focus on progress" inspired me to be less of a perfectionist. You can't get perfection as a mother. Our house will never be clean because WE LIVE IN IT. It's not a museum. I feel like I need to write that somewhere and look at it everyday.

Instead, focus on progress. When I get stressed out, I try to think we are progressing. A lot. I am progressing. A lot. I feel bad about not praying enough but I pray more now than I did a year ago. I prayed more a year ago than I did five years ago. I prayed more five years ago than I did ten years ago. Really, it's astounding progress. I feel bad about my lack of self-discipline to read a book or practice piano (and just eat chocolate or go on facebook instead). But I waste less time now than I did a year ago. Etc. Etc. So I'm no where near the perfection I have envisioned in my mind. And our family is far from the perfection I dream for us. Progress, my friends, progress is the answer. Two steps forward, one step back.

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