Far away there in the sunshine are my highest aspirations. I may not reach them, but I can look up and see their beauty, believe in them, and try to follow where they lead.
-Louisa May Alcott
If you are passionate about your work – in love with what you are creating – you will be driven, naturally, to complete it in its best possible form.Your belief in your conception, will supersede any fear you might have of failure creeping in as you strive to realize its potential. That curiosity about what your work might become, will spur you on to spend all the necessary hours, days, months and even years, necessary, to hone your skills, refine what you are doing, and finally, bring your vision to completion.
“Always aim high, but remember: height is not the measure of height. AIM is. So aim more. Soar more. Never be aimless. Nor more-or-less. Be more than before. Much more.” That is the kind of advice from which we can all benefit. That is the advice Farfetch gave to Spunktaneous in THE WORLD OF GLIMPSE.
When you finally reach that flash-of-recognition moment that tells you, that’s it – that feels just right! you know, intuitively, that you have completed what you set out to do in the best possible way – which happens to be your way. That sudden, unbidden flash of inner knowing you experienced – what James Joyce called, “its soul, its whatness” – reinforces for you that your work is now perfectly complete, even though it might really be imperfectly perfect – and that can be a good thing. Imperfections are often desirable. Take Persian carpets, for example: They are completed with intentional color imperfections or purposely made not to be square. Yet, there is nothing perfunctory about their perfection or imperfection. A great deal of practice and professionalism has gone into creating them.
According to Farfetch: “Perfunctory perfection…a deception, Spunktaneous. Do you practice relentlessly? Assiduously? Like me? Why at any ungiven opportunity, I…
Practice my verse and impromptu rhymery,
Theatrix and slap bang one-linary,
Stretchlimbulate…an extennnnsive desiry,
I resulate on inimitable aspiry.”
This blog is so brilliant, so wise and so clever. Yes, aim is the all encompassing goal, without judgement I may add, as one aims. Just let go and aim. Whether you hit the bulls eye or intended result is not important. It is the effort or the aim that is the goal in and of itself. So, endorse yourself always for the aim (effort) never for the result. Once again, thank you Ellen for so cleverly bringing this concept into full view.
Thank you, for your thoughtful comments, Dede. Embracing continual challenge and growth – and aiming high, while enjoying the process – are really essential ingredients in leading a purposeful, creative life. Yes, as you say, it is not important whether you do reach your goals or not; what is important is that you actually tried.
” Imperfectly perfect”… I love it!
Thank you, Anne. Trying to achieve “perfection” – whatever that might be – will stultify our own intrinsic creativity.