The Art of Embracing Imperfections

"Prayer" by Chelsea Kerr

Do you think in pictures? I didn't know until recently that not everyone does. I read a book a while back about a person who would get a picture stuck in their head, and they couldn't rest until they got it out, in the form of art. I don't know if I did this before reading that book, but have experienced it since.

I don't remember the circumstances, but I had this picture of prayer in my head. I saw a little spark of light shooting up from the earth into heaven. And the more people prayed the more lights there were, until the whole Earth was surrounded in light.

I am not an artist. I am crafty and creative, but I don't draw or paint well. I wanted this picture in my head to exist. I tried to create it with AI, but couldn't get it quite right. I decided I'd have to paint it myself. It looked like a watercolor in my head, so I borrowed supplies from my mom, watched a bunch of tutorials and started painting.

It didn't come out quite exactly how I wanted, but it was out of my head. And I love it a little. It is imperfect, but it's a perfect effort with the skills and abilities I possess.

I have struggled with perfectionism throughout my life. I like to do things well and with my best effort. One day in therapy we were talking about this, and my therapist reminded me that I'm already a good person, even if I'm not perfect (I made this post-it to remind myself).

I don't know what the "art" of embracing imperfections is exactly, but I'm practicing being ok with imperfect me.

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