Expectations of Perfection

“Living life is like playing a violin solo in public and learning to play the instrument as we go along” naked. No rational person believes they could play a musical instrument perfectly the first time they tried. Yet in our spiritual life we often expect perfection and then become disillusioned when our expectations are not met. The level of our serenity is directly proportional to our expectations of perfection. To be clear: We should expect great, marvelous things to arise in our lives when we Live on the Spiritual Basis, but we must also remember that our lives are works in progress. We seek “spiritual progress, not perfection.”

For my Christian friends this may seem inconsistent with the Great Carpenters’ teaching, but it is not. The perfection He taught on was the perfection of purpose. We are all flawed so we abandon ourselves to God as we understand Him, seeking guidance and strength in every area of life and living. In this we can achieve perfection, but to think that any of us will stand perfect in every thought, word, deed and action is a recipe for irritability, restlessness and deep discontentment. God is perfect, as is our Divine selfhood; but living, being human is messy and a work in progress and to believe we can do this mistake free is a tragic error.

We only see a great artist’s final product, not their preliminary attempts. How many versions of Beethoven’s masterpieces did he discard before the final renditions we know today? How many canvases did Rembrandt paint over? How many failures did Thomas Edison learn from on the way to his great discoveries? The perfection in their lives, and ours, is in being willing, willing to go on in the face of missteps, fear and doubt, choosing to trust the inner voice of inspiration. Conversely, when we stand in front of a mirror naked, we see our imperfections, yet in God's eyes, we are perfect just as we are.

Living on the Spiritual Basis, we trust infinite God rather than our finite selves. We keep our eyes on God and capitalize those seeming missteps in our spiritual evolution as opportunities to demonstrate His omnipotence and when we err, and we all will and do, thank Him for knowing Him better and then take the appropriate indicated action to address the misstep.  If you don’t know what action to take or path to follow, ask in prayer to be shown and the right answer will come. By acting in this way, we own the lesson and possible repetition of the misstep is greatly reduced, achieving perfection of purpose in action. Clothing recommended, but optional, since you are perfect, just as you are.

Miracles Of Recovery

© Vincent Lee Jones All Rights Reserved

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