10. AN ADVENT AMONG OTHER THINGS: JOY DESPITE IMPERFECTION

Monday, December 16th

We have all heard that the unexamined life is not worth living, but consider too that the unlived life is not worth examining. ~ Julia Cameron, The Artist’s Way

In a recent podcast, CBS News correspondent Steve Hartman shares the story of Gerald Hodges, a high school student and star athlete in several sports, who courageously abandoned his fear of failure to learn how to swim. When questioned why he would do this, especially with all the success he had elsewhere, Gerald replied, “I felt like if I couldn’t handle not being good at something, then how could I consider myself a successful person?” *

Gerald’s story can inspire us to consider trying something new–just for the joy of humbly learning or practicing something beyond our usual inclinations and capabilities. More than that, his story can inspire us to surrender any need for perfectionism. I tend to discount a new creative idea if I believe I wouldn’t be very good at it. And in her book, The Artist’s Way, Julia Cameron addresses the way this need for perfection hinders creators and creativity:

We opt for setting our limits at the point where we feel assured of success… Usually, when we say we can’t do something, what we mean is that we won’t do something unless we can guarantee we’ll do it perfectly… Very often a risk is worth taking simply for the sake of taking it. There is something enlivening about expanding our self-definition, and a risk does exactly that. ¹

Beyond trying a new sport, hobby, or craft, this idea can be extended to simply living this life. We are all living these particular days for the first time. We are inexperienced at life; we will not handle our days perfectly, we will make mistakes as we keep learning, and we will think that we understand and manage life well, until life changes–and our “expertise” diminishes.

But the joy of Christ is meant for us through all of life. We can be unafraid to try something new, knowing that we will remain upheld and beloved. We can accept our imperfections while allowing God to instruct, correct, and guide us as we go. We can be alive with joy as we experience new and different things, as we live each day fully and abundantly, as we fumble and stumble along.

We can experience the joy of being perfectly loved throughout our imperfect lives.

*https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/cultivating-connection-amidst-division/id1765227660?i=1000674983407
^1. Cameron, Julia. The Artist’s Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity. Copyright 1992, 2002. Penguin Putnam Inc. (Pages 121, 123)

Photo by Karen; this is a special canvas, a gift from our son, on which I can “paint” with water (which eventually then dries back to the blank canvas). It’s a perfect way to practice my imperfect painting. On the easel is a print of a painting that was done by my dear dad, who was a talented watercolor artist.