We recently read an excerpt from ‘The French Art of Letting Go’, written by Fabrice Midal, Founder of the Western School of Meditation, that we wanted to share with you.

In today’s fast-paced society, there is an increasing underlying monologue we read about wanting to be ‘perfect’ which resonated with us. The very essence of being human, means to experience every emotion including pain and sadness; and really feeling those emotions, allowing yourself to be vulnerable with an open heart. We often beat ourselves up if we fail at something or tell ourselves a story on why we’re not good enough. The following excerpt reminds us that we are all human. It’s okay to fail, just like it’s perfectly normal to feel sadness.

“We strive to be perfect, untainted by any emotional outbursts, and especially pain. We’re ashamed to admit, even to ourselves, that we experience desire, anger, or disapointment. And if we do encounter these feelings, then we think that we can’t “really” be happy - in our dualist, binary conceptions, this “really” is key: Either we’re “really happy” or we aren’t happy at all. But negating our painful (or negative) emotions, and resenting feeling or expressing them, essentially entails refusing a part of our humanity, which is made up not just of joy but also of sorrow, imperfection, distress, and dark moments.
When we truly love someone, that includes their moments of emotion, their distress and fragility, which are part of their beauty as a human being! So why not learn this lesson when it comes to ourselves?
Our obsession with perfection leads us to harrass ourselves psychologically in a way that would be punishable by law if we did to someone else. We want so badly to be perfect that we no longer recognise our successes. Such ideals of perfectionism is a denial of reality. Nevertheless we struggle to control our images, obsessed by the idea of concealing out slightest failings.
Accept your failings, ignorance and imperfections. Just do your best, based on who you are and on the reality you have in front of you. Don’t cut yourself off from yourself, or from life.
Letting go in this sense doesn’t mean neglecting yourself, but instead accepting the world’s complexity and nuances. It means accepting difficulties and hiccups. It means no longer evaluating and controlling yourself all the time. It means to live, to enjoy life and to be able to laugh at yourself.”

Sometimes we just need that little reminder to allow ourselves to fully accept ourselves without judgement or unrealistic perceptions of being ‘perfect’. Your imperfections are what makes you perfectly human.

Being Human and Moving Through Life's Storms