Aspire Magazine: Inspiration for a Woman's Soul.(TM) June/July 2020 Aspire Magazine FULL Issue | Page 25

“PERFECTIONISM IS A MEAN, FROZEN FORM OF
IDEALISM, WHILE MESSES ARE THE ARTIST’S TRUE
FRIEND. WHAT PEOPLE SOMEHOW FORGOT TO
MENTION WHEN WE WERE CHILDREN WAS THAT WE
NEED TO MAKE MESSES IN ORDER TO FIND OUT
WHO WE ARE AND WHY WE ARE HERE.”.”
– Anne Lamott
WISDOM & SELF-GROWTH
myself invisible, silenced my voice, and
suppressed my full self-expression. I was
too scared to step out of the shadows and
be seen with all my flaws and imperfections.
If you had asked me years ago if I saw
myself stepping out of the shadows to share
my wisdom with the world, I would have said
hell no. Even though I’ve known all my life
that I was called to be a spiritual leader. Even
now, there are moments I still want to hide
and remain invisible because I’m afraid of
not being “perfect.” Yet, I’ve come to realize
that embracing all the messy imperfect parts
of me allows me to see my divine perfection.
To discover your divine perfection, you need
to courageously excavate all that inhibits your
full self-expression. You must give yourself
permission to make a mistake and mess up.
As Anne Lamott writes in her book, Bird by
Bird, “Perfectionism is a mean, frozen form
of idealism, while messes are the artist’s
true friend. What people somehow forgot to
mention when we were children was that we
need to make messes in order to find out who
we are and why we are here.” Your greatest
mistakes, biggest messes, and super failures
are your best teachers. So, don’t be afraid to
make big ones, you’ll take a quantum leap in
your spiritual growth if you do.
Embracing your imperfections may feel
uncomfortable—but when you do it enough,
it will eventually put you in touch with your
most authentic self. It leads you to letting go
of who you think you should be and becoming
who you really are. Living authentically is like
singing karaoke. At first, you may be anxious;
yet each time you let go and surrender your
need for perfection you begin living “out loud.”
Your mind may still race with thoughts such
as, “I’m afraid to make a mistake, or, I can’t
sing as well as my friends.” Yet, when you
continually override these negative beliefs
with positive affirmations, and let go of what
others think, you express yourself and live
out loud as the divine being you are.
Here are 5 Sacred Practices
to Embrace Your
Divine Imperfections:
1. PRACTICE SELF-COMPASSION:
Wake up in the morning loving yourself even
when you feel tired, uninspired, or depressed.
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