Broken Perfection
She holds it all until it cracks. Broken promises, shattered dreams, this broken state her new reality. Then she realizes, as it all falls apart, it’s through the cracks a new creation will emerge. It’s in the breaking there is healing. It’s when the walls are shattered that hope can endure. The breaking is only the beginning of mending.
Perfectionism grips so many of us. Its presence can be deadly if we allow it to take control. How many shattered hopes and dreams come from perfectionism’s whisper that if you can’t do it perfectly it’s not worth doing at all?
Art can be messy. Life can be messy. Our own minds can, at times, be a terrifying place to be.
Over the past several weeks as I’ve returned to old creative outlets, I’ve realized more and more the importance of presence over perfection. What if creativity isn’t just about the creation, and isn’t just about the process, but instead is about forming a connection with ourselves? And what if that connection, knowing ourselves, is what allows us to connect with others, and also facilitates a deeper connection with God?
We can’t share what we don’t know or aren’t aware of. We can’t speak to the depths unless we’ve been there, or have, at the very least, peered over the edge into that abyss.
We can only connect with others as deeply as we’re willing to connect with ourselves. If you can’t sit well with your own brokenness, pain, or grief, neither will you be able to sit well with others in theirs.
Art is not purely self-focused, and it shouldn’t be done to project the perfect image. But there is an aspect in knowing ourselves as we create. We can only acknowledge what we’re aware of. And acknowledgment is hugely important when it comes to connecting with others and with God.
Brokenness may damage the image (or the illusion) of perfection, but it's through brokenness that we find healing and a place to belong.