I hate that I reacted so strongly to a tiny little mistake like this one but that’s the way I act whenever I make a mistake. I still get so wrapped up in trying to reach this notion of perfection that I tend to miss the greater picture the important parts of life. I wasn't able to enjoy a meal with my family because I was so embarrassed. I know that perfection is this unattainable concept and if I attempt to reach for it I am setting myself up to fail because nothing I do will ever reach perfection.
I can happily say that I didn’t let that small disaster stop from cooking other dinners. The week after that I made a pizza that I was really proud of. I made my own dough topped with my mother’s amazing homemade pasta sauce, garlic chicken, red peppers, and one red onion. I can’t wait to continue cooking different foods. Cooking for me makes me feel the same way painting does because I put so much of myself into my work that when it doesn’t come out the way I like I feel as though its personal. I now appreciate my mom’s hard work so much more than I ever realized because cooking for my family is not an easy thing!
"The thing that is really hard, and really amazing, is giving up on being perfect and beginning the work of becoming yourself." -Anna Quindlen"A beautiful thing is never perfect." -Proverb
Check out my web site for another blog about struggling with perfection.
-Angela
YAY! You're blogging again! Do you see me dancing?
ReplyDeleteI get the same way about cooking and about cleaning around the house. My brothers think I'm crazy but everything I do has to be perfect. I can't just put the glasses away. I HAVE to color-code and reorganize the glasses. I can't just fry the shrimp up. I HAVE to add in extra spices and experiment until I think it's perfect. I can't just clean my room. I HAVE to make everything look perfect. Ironically, I don't clean my room that much for fear of going on a two-hour cleaning extravaganza. My mom says I give everything I do all of my attention, resulting in a single-track mind. I suppose that's true. But I do think that's the way we should live, to an extent. We should give God the glory and give what we're doing 110%. As Jim Elliot said, "Wherever you are, be all there." But at the same time we don't want, like you said, for it to become something personal when we "fail." Whenever I do something and I don't think it's perfect I over react and that's not right. Sometimes temporary "failure" is a mid-point on the way to success.
first i have to say that i agree with this
ReplyDelete"A beautiful thing is never perfect." i think is was bad idea to let that tinly little mistake to destroy your night.. i mean. you were upset about how you destroyed pasta and you didnt notice how everybody enjoyed in night and your dinner. (: im glade cause you later did pizza successfully. and im proud cause you later understood how you did mistake that night. (: btw keep writing your posts cause i enjoy in reading them. (: and tell to that girl, that she shouldnt stop with you helping her. ask her to try it again. she can do it. she just need to believe in it. (: - with love, hbdeysmiley
I want to eat that pizza.
ReplyDelete