The Imperfect Year

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.