Recently, Keith came outside as I was beginning my practice early one morning (we are all early birds in this castle) and said happily “YOGA!”
“Gotta do what I gotta do.” I said.
“Perfect is the enemy of good, right?” He said.
Pause.
“Totally.” I grinned. Because, I knew exactly what he meant.
I had one of the best home practices in a long time.
” The best is the enemy of the good.” ~Voltaire
I think we are all too familiar with the voice inside of us.
“If only I had this – then I would do/get that.”
“I don’t have the time I ‘really’ need to do it (practice, go to the gym, run, clean, start a project, cook a healthy dinner), therefore I won’t.”
“If it were this….then it would be that”.
“If I can’t make it to the studio, then I won’t practice.”
The voice telling us that all conditions must be a certain way before we begin or do anything that we know might improve our lives (or change it). The weather reporter as some people call it.
The other perfection advocate within us is the one that keeps pushing, forcing, advancing, tweaking, changing, until this illusion of perfection is achieved. This can often leave us burned out…defeated…hurt.
Sometimes, good – is exactly all we need. I think Mick Jagger coined it perfectly – “You can’t always get what you want, but you get what you need.” For me, this has been a huge learning as of late and it has helped me in cultivating a home practice that may not be what it is in the studio, but, the fact is, over time, it could be.
Perfection is just an endless pursuit. It is not an actual. Ever.
You don’t have to be a yogi to experience this.
An infinite distance lies between nothing–the unsaid comment, the unwritten letter, the undone act–and something, no matter how much room for improvement remains. In comparison, the distance between that something and perfection is barely noticeable at all. www.edbatista.com
It’s about effort. NOT getting it right every single time. Chances are within those efforts we catch glimmers of perfection or as some would say “excellence”.
“99% Practice, 1% Theory”, Right?
Keep practicing,
Sandra
Art Of Practice 