Only God makes perfect things . . . .

Art by L

(This was drafted about a month ago but left as a draft.  I'm including it now. . . just because.) 


For the past while, I've been reading The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin and really enjoying it.  My friend QV had it on her top ten books for 2010, so I requested it from the library.  I am nearing the end and I really think, in a perfect world, I would read it again.  That is high praise because I am not a "re-reader."  


Ms. Rubin writes in such a concentrated way that every chapter could be re-read to discover new thoughts.  My reading time is usually just before bedtime to help me wind down and, frankly, I am not 100% alert at that hour so I would, no doubt, find new thoughts on a re-read for that reason alone. 


I would also like to try some of her happiness experiments.  I already remind myself regularly, "Be Gretchen" which was a reminder she gave herself to be herself and to be true to herself rather than trying to be something she thinks someone else wants her to be or something she thinks she "should want" to be.  I have said "Be Gretchen" to myself (instead of my own name) quite a few times since reading the book. Ha! 

I have also utilized the idea to do something if it only takes one minute.  If I normally throw my jacket over a chair rather than taking the minute to walk to the closet to hang the jacket up, then I will make a change and "take one minute" to hang up the jacket.


Ms. Rubin states that she always takes notes when she reads.  Boy, don't I wish I'd done that because I wanted to quote one of her statements but I've looked through the whole book and I cannot find the quote I'm looking for.  The idea was that the members of some religious group (maybe the Shakers) intentionally put a flaw in their work to remind them that only God makes perfect things.  So then I Googled that concept hoping to find some Internet reference to the correct group.  Although I found many references to this idea, there were hundreds attributed to other cultures and groups.  

When telling people about our recent New Beginnings, I say what a success it was (because I felt that was true albeit self-congratulatory) but then I always have to throw in the observation that it was only about twenty minutes long (which I consider to be a flaw).  Why can't I just leave it at "success"?  

I was talking about this with L last night.  I told her to notice an acquaintance of ours who is ALWAYS able to give a completely positive self report of her own works and efforts.  What a great trait!  How much better she must sleep at night than I do! How much easier to wake up and take on something new, knowing you'd be completely pleased with the outcome!  


This wholehearted endorsement of my efforts is something that I cannot seem to do.  Perhaps I am trying for a balanced approach ("Well, it was good but not completely")?  Perhaps I don't want to, as my parents would say, "break my arm patting myself on the back."  Perhaps I am just too straight-forward.  I don't know.

When I happened across the "intentional flaw" concept in the book, I decided that perhaps I need to reframe my perceptions of all things. (Ms. Rubin discusses "reframing" something negative or something troubling into something positive.)  The thought occurred to me that when I am noticing the flaw in my efforts, I should just view it as a reminder that even an unintentional flaw is a reminder of our humanness and not of our flawed efforts and that humans should not expect perfection because only God makes perfect things.

It never was between you and them anyway.

At work on Tuesday, a fellow employee handed me this quote that is attributed to Mother Teresa, and it fit so well with my mood of the past few months that I wanted to post it here (a) to be included in my blog book at the end of the year and (b) to remind me now what I need to remember all the time.

People are often unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered.
Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives.
Be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies.
Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you.
Be honest and frank anyway.

What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight.
Build anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous.
Be happy anyway.

The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow.
Do good anyway.

Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough.
Give the world the best you've got anyway.

You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and God.

It was never between you and them anyway.

--Mother Teresa

(*All photos by my talented L.)

Birthday bunch

I cannot believe it has been a year since the birthday bunch last had lunch together.  We always say we will meet again in six months but I do not think we did this past year (can't remember) and we don't always.  In fact, seems like last year was just yesterday, so fast has time passed me by.

I've explained before how this bunch came to be but here I go again.  At our friend Sheila's funeral, one of her daughters said Sheila had gone to lunch with a group every year who had birthdays in her same birth month.  As the funeral ended, I was talking with Gloria whose birthday is the day after mine.  I said we should do this, so she and I decided we would.

Melanie's birthday is the same day as Gloria's, and Diane's is a few weeks before ours.  We could not figure out who else to invite from our birthday month.  The first year, I asked a handful of other people with "neighboring birthdays" and they couldn't come.  Finally, we invited two March birthdays to round us out at six.  Those two in March were fitting because (1) they had been in the RS presidency with Sheila and me and (2) shared a March birthday with Sheila.  So the birthday bunch was born. Actually, all of us were Swedish weavers, too, at one time or another (Sheila was our Swedish weave teacher), so this is also another thing we all have in common with one another and with Sheila.

Happy Birthday to us!  See ya'all for lunch at least next year if not in October!