How to Embrace Imperfection

Embrace your limitations and make time for what counts.

How can we let go of the illusion that life will really begin as soon as we can “get on top of everything?”

tldr: An invitation to join us for four-weeks of daily contemplations designed to help us “embrace our limitations and make time for what really counts.” Oh! And don’t forget that an intimate group of us will gather Monday, January 20 at 12PM East to be in prayer together during inauguration.

Is there a way to escape the logic of postponement? Can we stop waiting for some moment… that is always later on… when we will finally feel rested, healthy, energized, creative, and all together more free to do what we really want?

I write to invite you to give up on all productivity systems. And to join me in a four-week “Imperfection Retreat.” A process designed to help us get more free by embracing imperfection. And accepting that our days are counted.

Let me explain.

A whole bunch of us are just starting Week 2 of BOOST Your Practice. Here I am inviting you into the other side of the coin.

Tiffany R. Guinn, who had been serving as my Business Manager, and writes the Chronowitch Odyssey here on Substack, said it best. They compared the process to yoga: when you stretch your body one way, you want to make sure you also stretch in the opposite direction. This is how we keep our balance.

This upcoming “retreat” is for you whether you are doing BOOST with us or not. Where BOOST is a way to stay accountable to the practices that best align us with the creative life force. Our Imperfection Retreat is a way to let go of the idea that if we try hard enough, the day will finally come, when we have it all together.

I know that this may come as a cause of dismay for many of us. I know that I myself am still quite attached to this alluring idea that my perfect life is in the future somewhere.

But imperfectionism is a powerful philosophy. It is a path of acceptance. “A liberating journey toward a more meaningful life that begins where we actually find ourselves, not with a fantasy of where we’d like to be.”

It is about releasing the fantasy of control. And about learning to live life on life’s terms.

I’ve been a fan of Oliver Burkeman’s work since I read: Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals. He is articulating a wisdom that is pure medicine for our times.

And now he has written a book that he bills as a “four-week retreat of the mind."

Meditations for Mortals: Four Weeks to Embrace Your Limitations and Make Time for What Counts

It is a series of daily meditations written to disavow us of the fantasy that “someday, somehow, I will learn to get it all done.” These are not guided sitting meditations. They are essays for contemplation, each less than 10-minutes long.

If you take a moment to think about it, you will understand the revolutionary nature of this endeavor.

Our very concept of time was invented, measured and imposed so that others could profit from our labor.

If you are reading this, you are probably a “knowledge” worker of some sort. And your entire body is all too familiar with the never ending tension of being “always on.” Of never fully knowing when your work turns off.

Most of the time there is no one actually watching us.

The system is masterfully designed so that we police ourselves into ever more productivity.

We are doing more and more. But it’s not really working.

We are tired. Unhappy. And the culture is not well.

In my own spiritual work, I am becoming ever more aware of my contentious relationship with time. I always want to do more than I could possibly do. Usually awesome things. I’m like that Tibetan hungry ghost when it comes to time. “A state of being where fulfillment is always just out of reach.”

This is the sense of time that defines my days. And so I am becoming aware of having a contentious relationship with my days. Imagine that! There in the background. A consistent fight with reality. A humming sense of anxious, judgemental, dissatisfaction lurking in the background of my mind. And defining the experience of my body.

Like I said already, most of the things I want to get to are awesome. I believe many of them would lead to a felt experience of life that would be even more fulfilling. I want to make sure I meditate, exercise, plan my meals, work on my mobility, offer innovative programs, better promote these programs, have quality time with my son, and my wife, and my friends, and still have time for rest, relaxation and recreation.

All.good.things.

And I get to do a lot of them.

But I still have this voice inside me that tells me I could do them better, more consistently, more perfectly. And that if I did, then… and only then… will I be truly free, and content.

It is a mindfuck.

And Burkeman has written a book that is helping me through it.

I’ve been through the four weeks three times already. And now I am inviting you to join me, so we can meditate our way through it together.

How it Works

• From Sunday, February 9 to Friday, March 8

• Every day, for four weeks, we’ll each read or listen to the day’s meditation on our own.

• We’ll have a forum where I can share my daily reflections and you can also share yours, whenever you are moved to share.

• We will have five one-hour online community gatherings during the four weeks. A way for us to reflect together. (We will poll you to see what day and time of the week works best for those interested.)

There is real medicine here. The potential for a shift of perspective that can impact the rest of your life. These paradigm shifts are best integrated when we do more than reading. When we dive into something together. Here you have an opportunity to try on a new and liberating posture.

I cannot wait to find out who among you is ready to join me!