This morning as I was looking out on the circle garden in the front yard, I thought it wasn’t right; the plants seemed scrawny. Then it dawned on me that rather than expecting the garden to be perfect, it is up to me to bestow my own delight upon the garden.

Perfectionism is rooted in this tendency to have expectations, to want things to be “just so,” and to be disappointed when they aren’t.  It is a problem I have had all of my life. Re: the drawing process– when I learn that I can bestow my blessings upon that which I behold, I won’t need to always be looking for the perfect thing to draw. I can choose a subject with more ease and just get on with it.

There is a quote from Bob Dylan that I can’t find any more that he would rather hear the ash cans clanging… and he went on listing ordinary sights and sounds. It made a deep impression on me. It relates to this need I have to be able to extract perfection from each moment.

It is your sadhana to extract the perfection from each moment, from each particle of the universe…  This is perfect, that is perfect. 

— Gurumayi Chidvilasananda, Enthusiasm