A wise friend of mine recently shared a thought that has made a deep impression on me.
She was talking about perfectionism and our tendency to beat ourselves up continually because we fall short of our expectations. .
She said that none of us are or can be perfect, and instead of berating ourselves for repeatedly missing the mark, we should look for “perfect moments.”
my life isn’t perfect, but it does have perfect moments
She described some of her perfect moments, including one that happened on a night when she felt particularly worried about her daughter. She knew her daughter was experiencing some trouble with a friend at school. She wasn’t sure how to help her through that challenge.
Late one night, she went into her daughter’s room and found her sleeping peacefully in her bed. She was overcome with the depth of love and concern she felt for that child. She quietly knelt down by her daughter’s bed and asked God to help her know how to help her child. She immediately felt impressed simply to tell her daughter, “I’m on your team.”
Her daughter woke up right as she finished her emotional prayer, and she was startled to see her mother in her room with tears in her eyes. “Is everything okay?” she asked.
“I just want you to know how much I love you and that I’m on your team.” It turned into a sweet, unforgettable, perfect mother-daughter moment.
Since hearing that story, I have been watching for the perfect moments in my life, and while my life is far from perfect, there are perfect moments every single day.
Yesterday, I went to the community pool for an early morning water aerobics class. As the sun came up over the mountains, and glistened all across the pool, it was like sun glitter fell from the sky and landed all over the water. Then, I noticed an elderly woman wearing a swim cap in another part of the pool. She was facing the sun and stopped to take a deep breath to soak it all in. Then, she starting jogging to the beat of the music, and for that moment, her life was perfect. She was absorbing the beauty of a perfect moment.
I asked Doug about a perfect moment he’s experienced. The first thing that came to his mind was our daughter, Sara’s wedding. Her wedding weekend was full of perfect moments — seeing her walk into the beautiful Salt Lake Temple to be sealed to her husband, watching her smile when she arrived at the reception venue and saw it all lit up and decorated with pink peonies just like she imagined, watching her laugh and enjoy time with friends and family, and saying goodbye as she and her husband walked under a canopy of sparklers in the night sky.
So many perfect moments in one beautiful day…
I thought of seeing the lace from my mother’s wedding gown tied around Sara’s bridal bouquet and seeing my daughters together savoring every moment of the wedding weekend.
There are perfect moments everywhere, and focusing on them brings out so many of the hidden beauties of ordinary life. I’m grateful to my friend for pointing out this truth to me.
What are some of your perfect moments? Think about them, notice how they make you feel, notice how they improve your mood and attitude, and if you want, share them! I’d love to hear about some of your perfect, beautiful moments.
Oh my goodness. You have me all up in tears. What a beautiful entry. You’re amazing in everyday, and I am blessed to know you Laurie ❤️
I absolutely love all you write!
Thank goodness you listened to your precious father!
Saturday, June 15, 2019 was perfectly marvelous in all aspects!
We all have TONS to be thankful for!
Dearly love you,
Aunt Gracie
Laurie, I have enjoyed your blog posts over the years. This post really hit home with me today and caused me to reflect and be thankful for so much that I sometimes take for granted. Thank you, Jana Tull
Thank you so much, Jana! So good to hear from you. I hope you are well!
Laurie, you have always been my mentor.
I recently had an unexpected delightful moment at the weekend celebration for Sara’s wedding.
I ran into my dear friend Jon. That was a highlight.
That was a highlight for me too — seeing both of you so happy to renew an old friendship! That was a perfect moment for sure.
I loved hearing about that sweet lady in the pool & your experience there too. it reminded me of a perfect moment I recently experienced. it was June 21 first day of summer, the summer solstice. it was getting fairly close to sunset & I asked my husband if he wanted to come with me but it wasn’t good timing for him. so off I went to walk a labyrinth very near our home (I actually had thought about it for about 2 weeks) anyway the sun was descending & it was behind the building, I was the only one there, I was near a busy street yet I was the only person in the world. I slowly walked it & took in the beauty of every rock that had been chosen for that sacred circle. I reached the center I placed my hands in namaste position & over my heard, I simply bowed in reverence to “father sun” & gave thanks for “his” job here in this solar system because without our sun absolutely nothing would exist. I honestly felt pure love & joy & very blessed for being a part of it all. I made my way peacefully back out of the circle & felt the peace & love of being able to feel this most perfect moment.
Peggy, thanks for sharing this beautiful, perfect moment. I love the image of you giving thanks to the sun for doing his job. ❤️
I loved hearing about that sweet lady in the pool & your experience there too. it reminded me of a perfect moment I recently experienced. it was June 21 first day of summer, the summer solstice. it was getting fairly close to sunset & I asked my husband if he wanted to come with me but it wasn’t good timing for him. so off I went to walk a labyrinth very near our home (I actually had thought about it for about 2 weeks) anyway the sun was descending & it was behind the building, I was the only one there, I was near a busy street yet I was the only person in the world. I slowly walked it & took in the beauty of every rock that had been chosen for that sacred circle. I reached the center I placed my hands in namaste position & over my heart, I simply bowed in reverence to “father sun” & gave thanks for “his” job here in this solar system because without our sun absolutely nothing would exist. I honestly felt pure love & joy & very blessed for being a part of it all. I made my way peacefully back out of the circle & felt the peace & love of being able to feel this most perfect moment.
I am never not touched by your clever, descriptive posts. Thanks for continually inspiring me!
Thanks for the sweet compliment and for being a loyal reader!
Hello there. In the last week I have watched the Elton John film Rocket man 4 times. It takes me back to our times together at USU. The Elton concert was HUGE to me. Still is. Just sending that to you
Jerry, that was the best concert ever and you were always so much fun! Did you see his final concert??