"Perfection is like death"
We think that if we just meditated enough or jogged or ate perfect food, everything would be perfect. But from the point of view of someone who is awake, that's death. Seeking security or perfection, rejoicing in feeling confirmed and whole, self contained and comfortable, is some kind of death. It doesn't have any fresh air.There's no room for anything to come in and disrupt all that. We are killing the moment by controlling the experience. Doing this is setting ourselves up for failure, because sooner or later we're going to have an experience that we can't control.... The essence of life is that it's challenging...From an awakened perspective, trying to tie up all the loose ends and finally get it together is death, because it involves rejecting a lot of your basic experience...To be fully alive, fully human is to be continually thrown out of the nest. To live fully is to be always in no-man's land, to experience each moment as completely new and fresh. - Pema Chodron
Ahh, there's so much room to breathe in these words. I love it and needed to hear this too - on this day where I have some extra space and struggling to slow down and be present to it. So much pressure to do the next thing in an effort toward a pointless "perfection."
ReplyDeleteI needed to read this. It's something I fight with with work, the house, life. I'm trying harder just to let go and remind myself it's all going to be alright no matter what happens. I love you. Thanks for this.
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