Hello everyone.

We will tackled about Imperfections in ourLives. Why is it so hard, when we have really blown it, to take responsibility for our actions, to tell the truth and make a simple apology? Might some of our resistance to telling the truth stem back to our childhood inability to explain ourselves? Does blowing it as an adult tap into our old anxiety of feeling humiliated by a finger pointing parent? A thousand different things made us cringe with fear and the dread of being found out and shamed or punished.

We reflexively cover up to void the blow to our pride that comes from acknowledging our imperfection. We try to shield ourselves from the logical consequences of our actions. By making up an excuse or blaming an outside source, we create the illusion that the world- not us-needs correction.

Surely there must be a better strategy for handling our mess -ups than disavowing them! Maybe we can learn to accept and process our occasional mistakes as a normal part of living.

When confronted with the awareness that we blown it, we can practice the courage of imperfection. This means replacing our kneejerk reflexes of rationalizing and blaming with a fundamental honesty. We learn to freely admit our errors and take responsibility for our inevitable shortcomings.

Authentic guilt is an important ingredient of mental and spiritual health. Guilt is like the smoke alarm in your house. When your smoke alarm is triggered, you dont try to stop it immediately, but rather search for the source of smoke. You want to find out if there is a fire that needs dousing. Guilt is healthy emotion that is evoked when weve harmed someone or been untrue to ourselves.

Shame over mistake is an orienting response, arousing us to take responsibility to make things right. When we turn a deaf ear to guilt, we diminish our vitality. Unresolved guilt dampens other emotions such as joy , love, and happiness.

So when youve blown it, concentrate on the feeling of guilt for three full minutes. No need to be morbid or condemn yourself forever. Remember the courage of imperfection and the smoke alarm. Just feel the guilt, and when you are done, make a conscious decision to apologize and if called for, make amends as soon as possible.

The Power of Grace

When we come clean with a simple cofession and make a ready amends, we feel relieved and relaxed. This inner experience is called grace. Grace is a warm climate of acceptance that allows us to make gradual spiritual progress in life without the pressure of perfection. We can nurture inner grace by accepting ourselves, foibles and all, and we can recieve grace frim God and friends when we feel their forgiveness.

We know that we are doing the best we can with what weve got. We accept that while our feet are made of clay our spirits can still soar.