Middah (character trait) focus: Imperfection is reality
Note: I will be Counting the Omer for a total of 49 days, from Passover to Shavuot or from Slavery to Freedom. For many, this is simply the Counting the Omer; for me, it is a time to actively reflect on different middot (character traits) that will lead me to my own rebirth.
“Have no fear of perfection – you’ll never reach it.” – Salvador Dalí
I have a challenge; I am hard on myself when I don’t complete tasks that I wish to in a way that I believe they should be done. And yet, sometimes it has to be reality.
Finding the saying of Salvador Dali is a gift because it absolutely helps me keep perspective and reminds me that I will always keep growing. Striving for improvement makes so much more sense than striving for perfection.
When I was a teenager, I used to paint as much as I could; I loved art, all art. And often I would find my self reflecting about Salvador Dali with each stroke of the paintbrush; he was my hero. So many of the pieces of my younger years were inspired by him. Years later when I went to the Philadelphia Museum of Art with a good friend, I was again reminded of the power of Dali’s work. He touched me like no other artist has ever touched me before or since. Again after seeing his exhibit, I tried to find my artistic place although that time it was and still is with writing. Although, after meeting my hero’s work again, I did start to pick up markers and colored pencils so that I could try to doodle on my journal books.
While I was at Philadelphia Museum of Art, I purchased the a mounted poster of the below painting; it reminds me that I can navigate through time, I just have to keep pushing through, doing what I dream of, and believing that I will succeed. Not everything happens when I want it to, as I hope it will, or even at all. Sometimes I fail and sometimes I don’t. I just need to remember to keep on moving forward and doing the best that i can do.
Salvador Dali’s The Persistence of Memory
Courtesy of http://www.themost10.com/famous-salvador-dali-artworks/
Imperfection will always be a reality, the question is will I find the gifts that are part of the journey?
