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Sunday morning, Isaac and I made breakfast.  We made the bacon first.  While we were waiting, we noticed that the sun was shining into the kitchen.  Because there is a bit of smoke from the bacon, you could see the sun rays so very clearly.   Once the bacon was done, Isaac wanted to help me with the sunny-side-up eggs.  He wanted to break the eggs into the pan.  We were making three eggs.  He broke the first egg perfectly.  He broke the second egg right on top of the first egg and the yolk breaks.  Same thing happened with the third.

Sun rays and breakfast make me happy.  Well the bacon makes me happy.

We sat at the table and he looks at my broken yolked eggs.  Here was how the conversation went.

Isaac: "Next time I will do it better."
Me: "It just takes more practice."
Isaac: "Practice makes perfect.  Well, perfect-ish. Nobody can be perfect.  Except for being yourself.  You can be perfect at being yourself."

I think about this.  It makes me remember what a VP I used to work with told me once "There is only one you... everyone else is already taken."

Oh my goodness.  She's right.  Isaac's right.  I'm perfectly imperfect.

Sounds tidy, doesn't it?  Almost something to be celebrated?  Well, yes and no.

So let's embrace this thought.  I am perfectly imperfect. I'm human and I make mistakes, I say stupid stuff and I feel things that maybe I shouldn't.  But all with the intention of being the best version of me I can be.  Essentially doing my best to be perfect.  Aren't I the plumb line?  Because I'll be honest, I judge others based on what I would do.  Ugh. That sounds terrible, doesn't it?  It's not like I think I AM perfect.  But I judge my actions by my intentions (and I think everyone else should too - LOL). Because I know what my intentions are.  And I know they're pure - where they are coming from.  And I understand them.  But you don't get this benefit.  Because you can't see my intentions or my complicated emotions for that matter.  You rely on me to communicate my intentions and those complicated emotions.  Something I'm not very good at.   

And what if you flip it around?  I don't know your intentions.  So I can only judge by your actions and words.  I came across this quote recently, "You'll end up really disappointed if you go through life thinking people will do for you as you do for them.  Not everyone has the same heart as yours." You can't expect that everyone follows your plumb line or the Golden Rule. 

And because I'm not the only one that's imperfect, and feeling all this, there are all kinds of things that can go wrong.  So what do we do about it?

Well you do have to remember that there is only one you.  And you are special (oh my gosh, do I sound like your mom yet?).  You have to take time to just be you.  To find what brings you joy and happiness.  You cannot rely on anyone else to give that to you.  Not your significant other, not your kids, not your friends, and no one in your family.

In my former life, I taught a class based on the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey.  It was amazing.  I loved it and incorporated a lot of the ideas into my life.  I haven't taught the class in several years, so these great ideas have slipped a bit.  But there is a concept that Stephen Covey talks about - called Carry Your Own Weather.  The idea is that regardless of what is happening around you, you get to choose how you respond.  The sun doesn't always shine.  

Seems like it could be, should be, easy.  And maybe sometimes it is; it sort of falls in your lap.  And other times you have to look harder or make your own "sunshine."  Sunday, it was bitterly cold.  So I made Isaac and I hot chocolate after we went to church.  The amount of whip cream in our hot chocolate definitely made us both happy.

Hot chocolate makes me happy!

I also had half of a slice of Portillo's chocolate cake.  That made me happy too.  I would've taken a picture, but.... I ate it before I thought of that.

Then we made chocolate chip cookies.  I finally found the dairy-free chocolate chips so I could make some for Brian too.  They were actually really good!

We made chocolate chip cookies.  Spending time in the kitchen makes me happy too!

So it sure sounds like food - chocolate, namely, makes me happy.  This is true.  Good thing I'm teaching Pound class five times a week.  LOL

So this week, find your joy.  Give yourself permission to do it.  Shine your way.   And if all else fails, eat chocolate.  ;)