Welcome to a mindful imperfection practice.
You are invited to hold the thoughts,
Feelings,
And memories of your imperfections with compassion and grace.
It can be hard to make peace with what you believe are your imperfections.
So often,
Imperfections are limiting beliefs about how you should be or look or succeed in life.
And what are these beliefs?
They are stories and scripts that you learned from life experiences in your family or from your culture.
Some messages from the outside that you absorbed on the inside.
Let's begin with connecting to the breath.
Take a few intentional breaths,
Allowing your body to breathe you in any way that feels natural and easy.
Allowing your imperfect body to breathe with ease.
If it feels comfortable,
You may also close your eyes or gently gaze in front of you.
Noticing where you are in your surroundings and where your body makes contact with support such as a chair or the ground beneath you.
Coming back to this grounding sense of physical support or to your breath as an anchor whenever you notice your imperfect mind wandering off in distraction.
Gently breathing in and breathing out.
Expanding with the inhale and releasing with the exhale.
Consider for a moment some perfectionist expressions you would like to release.
Perhaps it has to do with something you think you should be or should be doing.
Can you stop the shooting on yourself for a few breaths?
Letting go.
Gently breathing in and breathing out.
Perhaps there is a regret you are holding on to,
A past mistake or a wound that is hard to let go.
Allowing yourself to imagine softening into this regret,
Allowing it to dissolve into an ocean of compassion.
Softening.
Softening into an ocean of compassion.
Gently breathing in and breathing out.
Or perhaps there is a message you learned growing up,
A message of scarcity or of not deserving of the good things in life.
It's an old message of not enough that keeps you imprisoned in some way.
Like a message in a bottle,
Allowing it to float off into that ocean of compassion to be transformed.
Allowing the old messages to float away.
Gently breathing in and breathing out.
It may be hard to let go of the imperfections.
Sometimes there is an unconscious loyalty to holding on to the past.
It's okay.
You will be ready to let go when you are ready to embrace your imperfections with grace.
With kindness and compassion,
Soften into the imperfections.
Into the unique qualities and quirks that make you,
You.
Allowing yourself to be a compassionate mess,
Breathe,
Soften,
Accept,
Breathe,
Soften,
Accept.
Coming back to your breath anchor with tenderness and ease any time you need to.
Reflecting for a moment,
What might my life look like if I released the hold on my imperfections?
What would I do differently?
What would it mean to release any anxiety or stress related to being some perfect version of myself?
What might I notice when I shift my attention away from what's wrong?
What creativity,
Exploration,
And beauty might be expressed by embracing imperfection?
Are there other opportunities to take in the wonderful things I might otherwise not notice?
Old algorithms of not good enough are very sticky in the mind.
Your heart may desire more ease,
Compassion,
More messiness,
Play,
And freedom.
Yet the inner struggle may feel never-ending.
That's okay too.
Use even though compassion statements to hold the paradox.
Follow along silently and feel what resonates.
Even though I hold on to an old story of not being good enough,
I'm ready to rewrite this story and I completely and deeply love and accept myself.
Even though I hold on to an old story of not being good enough,
I'm ready to rewrite this story and I completely and deeply love and accept myself.
Even though I am not perfect compared to others or my own ideals,
I am willing to love and accept all of me anyway.
Even though I am not perfect compared to others or my own ideals,
I am willing to love and accept all of me anyway.
Even though I'd like my life to be different,
I am willing to accept my imperfections and see myself as a work in progress,
With love and kindness.
Even though I'd like my life to be different,
I am willing to accept my imperfections and see myself as a work in progress,
With love and kindness.
Breathe.
Soften.
Accept.
Breathe.
Soften.
Accept.
In these last few moments,
Notice the ways that some of your imperfections may enrich your life.
In what ways can you hold your quirks with love and humor?
What imperfections are exactly what others enjoy about you,
Allowing yourself to see the playful side of things,
Embracing your imperfections with adoration like you might toward a small child?
Love all of you,
Imperfections and all.
As we come to the end of this mindful imperfection practice,
Consider giving yourself a few minutes every day to find appreciation and acceptance as a source of self-worth,
Embracing both the beauty and messiness that is life.
Be gentle with yourself,
And allow yourself to be perfectly imperfect.
