A Bead on Perfection
By Sharon Price
Many of us strive for perfection in our lives. This may look like trying to be perfect in our work, perfect in our role as a parent, having a “perfect” home or even a “perfect” body. Our focus on perfection may even show up in small projects that are meant to be creative and fun. This striving for perfection can take a lot of the fun, creativity and adventure out of life – not to mention the fact that it can blind us from the true perfection (and joy!) of all that we experience. So this is a parable about perfection.
There once was a great queen who loved to have beautiful beaded necklaces to wear around her neck. She often received gifts of beautiful crystal and gemstone necklaces from the great craftspeople that lived in her country. Deep in her heart she wished she could make a very special and perfect necklace for herself. With this secret longing, she had spent many years collecting the most beautiful beads she could find during her travels around the world. She would look at her collection often with a great sadness because, though she wanted to make her necklace, she did not feel that she could (or should) until she knew for sure that she would be able to make the most beautiful and perfect necklace in the land. After all, she was the queen and, if she could not do this thing perfectly, she should not do it at all.
One day a master craft person from a far away land arrived and, to pay her respects to the queen, offered the most beautiful necklace the queen had ever seen. Thinking that surely this master craft person must know the secret to making a perfect necklace, the queen asked for advice. The craft person smiled compassionately and was honored to share her thoughts.
“The perfection is not in the necklace, the perfection is in the adventure of making the necklace. This necklace did not start out as perfect. In fact, I spent many weeks playing with this creation – stringing it, taking it apart, adding different gems and taking them out again. The perfection is not in the necklace – for in my eyes, it could still be improved upon – the perfection is in the creative process of learning what works and what doesn’t for each individual piece – this is the adventure. The perfection is in the joy of doing.”
“Some pieces I’ve made have taken years to create. Even if it began as the best idea, sometimes they just don’t work. Some may call the piece ugly – a great failure. Then one day, I will find a gem that has been missing. I did not know it was missing, but when I see it, I know that it is just the piece that the necklace needed to be complete. Some of my necklaces have never worked out. Though this can be frustrating – even upsetting at times - the funny thing is… Once I decide that there is nothing to do with it and take I it apart for good, I always find that there is something I can take from that piece that fits perfectly in another. It may be one of the beads, or it may be a new technique I’ve learned, or it may just be the experience of persevering in the face of an obstacle, but there’s always something I can bring foreword – and so the adventure continues.”
“I guess I would consider failure to be not being able to experience the adventure of it all.”
Sharon seamlessly weaves many different modalities to help her clients heal, grow and evolve - physically, emotionally and spiritually. She has been successfully coaching, teaching, healing and guiding people most of her adult life. To learn more about Sharon click here.