Perfection

"Please stop trying to sell me your perfection.  You are flawed and I am flawed and we're both wearing shiny cloaks of virtue but I know that when the day is done and the lights are dimmed, you shed all your sainthood like snakeskin and I do too. Tell me what you're hiding, what you're harboring, what you don't want the world to know about yourself for fear that it will be cast into the light."

The above is an excerpt from a book I'm currently reading. I was immediately struck by that first line; please stop trying to sell me your perfection. When I read it, I paused and, as I've said before when these moments hit me over the head (which they always do), I exhaled a giant breath of relief that whispered, for-the-love-of-all-that-is-holy, yes, please...stop. Because, my friends, this much I know.  The jig is up.  I can see right through those walls you've constructed.  And while I can sympathize, I also know from experience that they won't always stand the test of time.  They will eventually crumble - by your own hands or after years of brutal wear and tear.  So tell me, why keep yourself barricaded?

Well, as the phrase says, easier said than done.

There are a catalog of emotions that come along with that request, wouldn't you agree? Feelings such as fear, intimidation, truth, and vulnerability, to name a few.  We do our best to sell others our perfection, when really, if we would just shed our snakeskin in the company of others, we would come to realize that everyone else is simply waiting for permission to do that as well.  

I must admit, there are times in my life when I wonder if my own "book" is too open for others to see.  Maybe I overshare more than is needed; the result of living for so many years with the door to my life shut tight against the shame and guilt awaiting me on the other side.  Still, I feel so strongly about the connection that comes from opening ourselves up, from standing tall and announcing to the world, this is who I am! 

Theodore Roosevelt penned this very famous quote and one of my favorite authors (I have many) brought it to light in one of her books.  It reads:

You see, we continuously convince ourselves that the opposite of perfection is weakness, so we choose over and over again to hide who we really are.  

Friends, let's stop hiding.  Choose today to be in the arena with the rest of us. Find freedom in being truthful.  Be vulnerable.

Decide to say, yes, I am flawed, but so are you.

I love you, still.