“In heaven, all the interesting people are missing.”
— Friedrich Nietzsche
I am still learning.
Still stumbling.
Still getting hooked into the mind’s traps sometimes.
Still looping back into old patterns sometimes.
Still getting addicted to things sometimes.
Still making mistakes in life and business sometimes.
I never want to pretend that this is not the case.
I never want to pretend to be some infallible ‘guru’ who has it all figured out.
The way I see it, we’re all learning and we’re all teaching, always.
And the sooner we accept this, the better.
I’m tired of the hidden expectation that anyone doing any kind of teaching/healing/mentoring/transformational work, or really anyone attempting any serious endeavor in the world…
Needs to keep up a squeaky-clean ‘brand image’ and an immaculately photoshopped Instagram at all times…
And always be appearing perpetually wise and noble and as if they always ‘have it all together’ and make perfect decisions…
This hidden expectation does us all a disservice.
It creates an unreachable ideal that none of us are ever going to live up to.
And it obscures the gorgeous messiness of the human experience.
It hides the labyrinthine complexities and Dostoevskian character-flaws that make our lives such fascinating, tantalizing tales…
Our wayward detours and rough edges are beautifully messy.
Perfect in their imperfection.
They’re all part of the process.
The oh-so-perfectly-human process.
It’s all okay.
Let’s be honest about our humanity.
Let’s have compassion for ourselves and each other.
Let’s zoom out to see ourselves as if we were our own infant children.
Let’s learn to neutrally witness ourselves from beyond the mind and personality.
Let’s notice our primordial innocence.
Let’s celebrate the ways we deviate from spotless, photoshopped mannequins.
Amen.
Love,
JB
P.S. How does this land for you?
Jordan Bates is a perfectly imperfect bundle of idiosyncrasies. Find him on Instagram, Twitter, etc., and view his latest books/albums/offerings here.
I Ain't Perfect
So well said. Great message. I feel the same as a writer on here. I am far from perfect, I have great days and bad days but it all makes me, me. It is all a beautiful experience. Keep up the great work.
"And it obscures the gorgeous messiness of the human experience." This is beautiful Jordan. Thank-you.