I would like it if you did not find so many faults in yourself. You do not have to be faultless, nor do you have to be faultful. Desires are good, and it’s good to want to attain. At the same time, let yourself be imperfect. Otherwise, you are running an uphill race.
In terms of the relative world, odds are you will never have the perfect figure, the perfect house, the perfect husband, the perfect wife, perfect children. Isn’t that all right? Why struggle so much when you don’t have them? You may not be content, but must you be discontent? You may not be satisfied with everything as it is, but must you be dissatisfied? If everything is not perfect, does that mean everything is terrible? Can you not be okay?
There is a quality called equanimity. In equanimity you are balanced even when you experience extremes. May you seek and move forward, and yet not pick at yourself.
When you were six, you wanted to be seven. You always wanted to move on. Meanwhile, you didn’t chastise yourself because you were six. It was a reasonable desire that you be seven, and yet you did not berate yourself for being only six.
Sometimes you are very difficult to please about yourself. You will not be pleased. Either you sleep too much or not enough. Either you are too firm on your own ideas or you are too influenced by others. One time you are too stingy and another time too lavish. Do you know what I mean when I say you are hard to please?
It is as if you will not be pleased with yourself no matter what. This is what I mean when I say to let yourself be imperfect then. Better to be imperfect than a slave to perfection.
Everyone has areas that they are better at than other areas and other people. Some people are immaculate and some are messy. Be immaculate or be messy. Please love yourself just the same.
You may not be good at higher mathematics, and you have come to terms with that. Math is not on your list of things you have to improve. You have learned to live with it, not in defeat but by not focusing on it, by letting it go. Sometimes it seems that you probe and test yourself on other things more than is tolerable.
If you are tall, you accept it. If you are short, you accept it. You don’t harangue yourself about your height. But you do harangue yourself about any number of things. Are they really so bad? Are they really worth your energy?
Is it possible you could just be happy with yourself?
That doesn’t mean you stop living and growing. It just means it’s okay to be the live person you are as you are today. It just means you don’t whip yourself daily for not being more. You will be more tomorrow, yet meanwhile this is today.
Pat yourself on the shoulder once in a while.
It’s okay you didn’t make the perfect pie. It’s okay you did or didn’t do something today, whatever it is. The world will go on. Will you kindly remember that you are God’s beloved and give yourself some slack? Otherwise, you will always be tense. Fault yourself for being tense, and let go of all that makes you tense.
You have been picking at yourself, and, really, you are okay. So what if your hair is limp today? So what if you didn’t do everything you meant to? Please, for My sake, love yourself a little.