A Few Words about Writing and Perfection
We're all perfectionists to some degree. Writer Cici Miller shares a few profound thoughts about the nature of perfection, especially as it pertains to writers. I, you, and many writers have struggled to let go of a piece of work, whether it be a short article or a full book. Even upon completion of whatever it is we've written, we know it's not done. It's never done. It can always be better. Read and learn from this thoughtful article from Cici Miller.
Recently I watched my 16-year-old son practicing martial arts. I stood amazed, as with steady composure he navigated a long series of complex movements in one fluid dance. Why amazed? Probably for the same reason I was stunned to behold the arc of his head just moments after his birth. Because perfection--real perfection, not the gnarly kind that nags you until you get it right, but the pure-flowing kind--always comes as a delightful surprise. Why can't we make perfection happen when we want it to? Because it's the very serendipitousness, the unexpected nature, of the gracefulness of human movement or of the appearance (once again! imagine!) of a brand new human being, that makes us say "How wonderful! That's perfection." If we could predict it, it wouldn't be perfect. By allowing ourselves to be surprised--in the act of writing, or anywhere else in life--we open to the miraculous. Only the miraculous is truly perfect, those moments of beauty and truth we know we couldn't have created on our own.
Yet if we´re ever to touch perfection—-in our writing, and martial arts, or within the silent heart—we instinctively know we must give over our desire to “do it well,’ give in to the temptation to speak as openly and baldly as we can about whatever matters most to us. Otherwise the Inner Critic will take hold of our words and mash them to a pulp before their beauty or greatness has a chance to emerge.
The tough truth we must face: We can't want to write well and write anything great. We must write with abandon, with an intention to discover what is best in us and in life. And we must show up. As we do, day by day, keep living and writing by the light of our true intention, we may glimpse perfection.
Seeing the miraculous emerging from our very own words, we'll be as amazed as anyone else! When we see it, we won't dare say, "How brilliant I am!" We'll feel the tenuous beauty of that creation. We'll treat it like a just-born infant. We will cradle it in our hands with unimaginable tenderness and say only, "Thank you."
Ceci Miller is the author of Sacred Visitations: Gifts of Grace that Transform the Heart and Awaken the Soul, endorsed by Chicken Soul Author Marci Shimoff, Mars/Venus author John Gray, and bestselling author John Bradshaw. The book's touching, often magical, stories guide readers beyond mere memoir into the profoundly personal world of their own sacred experiences. Ceci's workshops teach the 5 Steps of Sacred Awareness. A student of meditation since 1976, Ceci´s heartfelt stories of spiritual experience and contemplation--shared in articles, books, and public talks--have inspired meditators and seekers throughout the world. She is the author of two children's books and has co-authored and edited numerous books for adults. To hear Ceci read an excerpt from Sacred Visitations, or to hear her interviews with people about their spiritual experiences on the Sacred Visitations Podcast, go to http://www.sacredvisitations.com/
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