Imperfection is beauty, madness is genius and it’s better to be absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring.” ―Marilyn Monroe
At the start of each new year, I find myself subconsciously striving for a “perfect year.” So when I woke up on New Year’s Day without a hangover (despite being prepped with Gwyneth’s handy hangover guide) for the first time in recent memory, I knew that things were off to a good start.
In 2012, sobriety (i.e., consciousness) is the new black. Being aware of who we really are means approaching life one-day-at-a-time. I learned this from a wise family member.
Yet, for recovering overachievers like myself, adopting this mentality can be extremely difficult. How do we hush the voice inside our head that whispers: ‘This year will be the year that you “get it right” and figure it all out’?!
The answer is: we must meditate on what “getting it right” means to us. Does a “perfect” year mean you’ll…fall in love? Get married? Have a baby? Manage to have a year in which no problems come your way?
What I’ve learned is this: the older we get, the more imperfect we become. We will never “get it right” entirely because that’s not what we’re meant to do. It is NOT about trying to figure it all out so that we are flawless creatures (no hangovers, no embarrassing foot-in-mouth moments at cocktail parties, no tragedies, no illnesses, no tears, no fights!).
During a recent meditation, I was hit with the realization that our flaws and imperfections bring us closer to God, and closer to a higher understanding of the universe. While we can’t avoid what life throws at us, we can recover more quickly from our mishaps by truly accepting –and appreciating– who we are. In my mid-30’s, I am finally embracing my imperfection for what it’s given me: forgiveness, compassion, fearlessness, a great sense of humor, and the knowledge that living an imperfect year is living closer to the truth.
Meditate with Maeve 
I love you! I love this post. Selfishly I feel like you wrote this for me at this exact moment in my life. Thank you. Now, do me a favor and your other readers as well … DO NOT wait so long to post again. xoxo
And p.s.: I agree with all of your “imperfections”, but I’ve always known they were your strengths. 😉
You’re the best! I will write more often…you inspire me!
Believe me, the older you get, the more you realize that perfection is just a state of mind and everyone has their own idea of what “perfect” should be. (As they say “the only perfect people are perfect a-holes”). No matter what age we are, it’s important to look at every day as a learning experience and keep an open mind to accept our lessons and grow. It’s when we think we know everything and shut ourselves off to new ideas that we stagnant and miss out on new opportunities.