Читать книгу Giving Thanks - M. J. Ryan - Страница 18

A point worth pondering: Upon completing the Universe, the Great Creator

pronounced it “very good.” Not “perfect.”

—Sarah Ban Breathnach

When I was young, I wanted to be a saint. Not just plain old good, but a bona

fide canonized saint. I figured that anything worth doing was worth doing per-

fectly, and while I was being perfect, I might as well get all the adoration that

perfectionism deserves. Sainthood seemed to fit the bill. Unfortunately, I kept

slipping up—I would forget to make my bed or get jealous of my little brother,

and then sink into despair, convinced I was a complete failure.

Ah, perfectionism! Those of us afflicted with the pesky bug may look with

amazement (You mean you don’t care you didn’t do it perfectly??) or disdain

(What kind of lazy, good for nothing guy are you?) upon those who don’t suffer

from it, but the truth is, of course, that it springs from our own sense of lack.

We simply don’t believe we’re good enough as we are in our humble, human,

imperfect state, and must therefore compensate by being Miss Perfect Goody-

Two-Shoes.

That was certainly true for me. Somehow, as a child, I got the message that

if only I did everything perfectly, life would be OK. But life has a way of being

messy and imperfectable, despite our best efforts, and individuals, including

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