Essay 121: Perfect

My yoga teachers have been offering me wonderful food for thought lately.
Here is a paraphrase of a powerful nugget I heard in class yesterday:
“Let go of expectations, of how you think things should be and embrace what is. Trust that you are perfect as you are right now.”
We’ve all been told: “Nobody’s perfect”.
As I pondered the instructor’s words, I wondered if we had all misunderstood. Is it actually that everybody’s perfect?

Understandably, there is great initial resistance to embrace such a belief. What about thieves and murderers? What about abusive spouses and parents? What about liars and cheaters? Are they perfect just as they are?
Obviously, their actions are far from perfect and such people could stand to improve but they are part of life’s carefully curated curriculum.

If, when dealing with such people, we could accept the circumstances they bring upon us; if we could have faith that they are exactly as they should be to foster our growth; if we could welcome hardships as learning experiences, it would be easier to accept life, ourselves, and others as perfect right now.

Google offers this first definition of the word perfect:

1- having all the required or desirable elements, qualities, or characteristics; as good as it is possible to be.

In this sense, it is easy to see that even thieves, murderers, liars and cheaters have “all the required or desirable elements, qualities, or characteristics (…)” to teach us about what is right and what is wrong, to show us who we would rather be. Their horrendous actions (which WILL bring upon them just consequences) can also serve the greater purpose of edifying those of us willing to live and learn.

The second definition read:

2- absolute; complete

In this sense, it is easy to see that we are, each and everyone of us “absolutely and completely” ourselves and thus perfect. 

You’ve probably seen the meme:

“Always remember, that you are absolutely unique. Just like everyone else.”

We tend to believe that our flaws and imperfections are the stumbling blocks towards achieving perfection. In reality, maybe perfection cannot be attained simply because it is already within us. It is up to us to acknowledge it and own it. It’s up to us to let it shine. We are perfect because we are magnificent, incomparable, inimitable and glorious.

As Marianne Williamson says so eloquently in A Return to Love:

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?
Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God.
Your playing small does not serve the world.
There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you.
We are all meant to shine, as children do.
We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.
It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone.
And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

Let’s become diligent students of life and learn all the lessons we can, even the painful ones. Let’s redefine perfect and choose to believe that right here, right now, we all are.

---

Thank you for reading. Please like and share so more people can benefit from this message.