Daily Fortune

My fortune today said: Generosity and perfection are your everlasting goals.

I got to thinking about it, and it's true. I want to be generous in thought, word, and deed. I want the perfect marriage, child, house, and life. But honestly, who doesn't truly want these things? Or at least, who doesn't say they want these things for themselves?

All day long, between emails and phone calls, between feeding and playing with my child, I've moaned to myself that my house isn't perfect. The laundry is piled up out of control again, the kitchen is a wreck, toys are strewn everywhere. I've moaned that my life isn't perfect. Money is tight, I want to go away to Mexico for a week or two, I am not right with my parents, and I'm still a little depressed about the crisis my marriage has just weathered.

Sitting here, writing when I should be cleaning my house or trying to sell one for someone else, though, belies the desire for perfection. If I really wanted to be "perfect" I would be superwoman. I'd get up at the crack of dawn, and not take any time to be lazy or procrastinate. I am looking out at the sippy cups that need to be washed, and trying to think of what to make for dinner, and I have just had a moment of clarity.

Perfection doesn't have to be a single definition. It is the set of perfect moments you achieve within a day. All 525,600 minutes don't have to be perfect. The moment my son looks at me and puts his arms up for a hug is perfect. Each new word he says is perfect. Each time I cook a meal and my husband appreciates it (the fact that I cooked, not what I cooked) is perfect. Smiling at the woman who waits on me at the convenience store and having her smile back is perfect. The good feeling I get when doing something out of love for someone else is perfect.

Perhaps my house isn't as clean as the one next door. Maybe I don't have makeup on today and don't look my best. It's quite possible that the dinner I cook tonight will be a complete disaster. But I will do all things with love in my heart and will be quite generous with it. Generosity and perfection go hand in hand. If you do things with a generous heart, the results will be perfection.Simply put, life is the cumulation of moments. How we deal with each moment that comes our way is our choice. I will strive to enjoy my "perfect" moments and do for others with love in my heart. I want my life to be more than frustration that my life isn't perfect to the scale of someone else. At the end of today, I will lay next to my husband, feel his arm curl over me, and simply enjoy a perfect moment in time.