Trying Not to be Perfect

 “Perfectionism is the voice of the oppressor, the enemy of the people.” That’s a quote from Anne Lamott, who was drinking heavily by the time she was sixteen and found she couldn’t write when she was thirty. Fortunately, she stopped drinking. But she’s right; we spend too much energy trying to be perfect. We want a perfect life, a string of perfect days, and I think we can have that, if we change our attitude. My perfect day is always without hardship and filled with people and things I love. I write, walk, practice yoga, lunch with a friend, write some more, have dinner with my family and friends, and fall asleep with a good book. It occurred to me in an Artist’s Way study group that we can create these perfect days around the lives we have, and if we string them together, one day at a time, we birth a creative life. I decided to have 30 perfect days and write about them. What if we find our perfect day as we savor, reflect, and throw our souls into having a day that’s memorable and satisfying and worthwhile? Know what I found out? There’s no such thing as a perfect day, but we can have an excellent day, a day in which our problems are just passing nuisances and we’re moving on to something better. Still wondering if my book 30 Perfect Days is worth publishing.