4 January 2010
What Are You Waiting For…Perfection?
Posted by Robin Easton under: Hobnobbin' with Robin .
Last week many of you saw my video, When You Know You’re Alive, about my climb up a wild windy mesa here in New Mexico. When I planned the climb I envisioned a warm sunny winter day with a possible picnic at the top of the cliff edge. But by the time we arrived at the base of the mesa it was intensely cold and windy. We could have said, “What a horrible day. Let’s wait for a better day.” There are definitely times when that’s a VERY wise thing to do, especially in the wild (or if we are tired and working with knives. LOL!!) But today I speak of another type of “waiting”.
Sometimes we wait to have the house all clean before having friends over. We wait for that special evening-out to wear our “good” clothes instead of wearing them any day just because we feel good in them. We wait to get that poem perfect before we share it publicly. We wait to use our best dishes until we have company. We wait to sing that song for our friends until we’ve had some lessons. We wait to apply for that job until we have more training. We wait to live that dream until the kids are gone. We wait to tell people we love them until we know THEY love US. We wait to have desert until after the meal (why not before?). We wait to write that book until we’ve written a hundred books in our mind. We wait to swim at the beach until we’ve lost weight. We wait to fulfill our impulses until we’ve examined them to death and no longer feel them. We wait until we have more money, more health, a better house, clothes, car, more time, and so on…and THEN we will live and THEN it will be right. It’s a bit like trying to learn to walk without ever taking a step.
Meanwhile, The Great River of Life flows just beneath the bridge of our waiting lives. While we wait for the perfect moment to dive in, Life silently slips by and dreams go unlived. Through all my mistakes and successes, I’ve learned that Life and Learning are a LIVE process. Something that is done through EXPERIENCING ourselves and Life. It is only when we dare to jump into the river of Life that we truly BECOME Life. We no longer stand on the bridge waiting, separate from the essential flow of Life.
I encourage you to learn to speak through speaking (how simple), learn to love through loving (of course), learn to sing through singing (how spontaneous), learn from Nature through all her moods (how healing), and to swim in all your overweight glory (OH YES!! Enjoy the water now; you’ll naturally lose weight), and to share your poem with me and others (you’ll become who you already are…extraordinary).
Don’t wait to live, my friends. Nothing is worth wasting even a moment of your precious Life. You are Life ITSELF, discovering ITself through all your mistakes and successes. A hundred years from now no one will remember an overweight swimmer, a slightly off key singer, a poem without meter, an awkward “I love you”. However, many souls will remember the soul who DARED TO LIVE.
In what ways do you wait that might limit opportunities and hinder vitality in your life?
Perfection already exists. We must only live it.
Love,
Robin
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Related Links:
Dare to Take Risks
When You Know You’re Alive
This Site: © Robin Easton
Website: http://www.nakedineden.com
Blog: http://nakedineden.com/nakedinedenblog/
45 Comments so far...
Carol Says:
4 January 2010 at 8:54 pm.
Thank you for opening my eyes. I thought I WAS living, but I realized, I do spend a lot of time “waiting”. Too much in fact. For opening my eyes, reminding me… cracking that whip of life, yet again, so much gratitude I have for you! ~C~
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Nea | Self Improvement Saga Says:
4 January 2010 at 9:04 pm.
Beautiful post Robin. I’ve been guilty of missing opportunities by putting them off until the perfect moment. But you’re so right about living right now. There truly is no time like the present. Thanks for sharing your amazing insight.
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Miche - Serenity Hacker Says:
4 January 2010 at 9:10 pm.
Hi Robin, What a great post on seizing life and really LIVING, rather than waiting to live.
I believe that we are already perfect, unique expressions of life as we are, and that when we judge ourselves not worthy enough to en-JOY life for this reason or that, we deprive ourselves of the very essence of life, the joy that is right there for us to experience.
Happy New Year to You, Robin. 
Cheers and many hugs,
Miche
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Tweets that mention Naked In Eden Blog – Robin Easton » What Are You Waiting For…Perfection? -- Topsy.com Says:
4 January 2010 at 9:12 pm.
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by RobinEaston, Miche Heredia. Miche Heredia said: RT @RobinEaston What Are You Waiting For…Perfection? http://bit.ly/73INi1 [...]
Betsy Wuebker Says:
4 January 2010 at 10:28 pm.
Hi Robin – AMEN! Just AMEN! Happy New Year! xoxo
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uberVU - social comments Says:
4 January 2010 at 10:36 pm.
Social comments and analytics for this post…
This post was mentioned on Twitter by RobinEaston: Are you waiting for perfection? http://bit.ly/4PJNKx…
Jonathan - Advanced Life Skills Says:
4 January 2010 at 10:54 pm.
Hi Robin, how did you know? Of all the challenges I have struggled with and overcome, waiting for perfection still gets the better of me sometimes. In most areas I am fully engaged and in a state of flow, but there are those other areas where I want it to be perfect, which of course it never is (or already was). I needed this post right now and it will help me more than you know. Thanks for the way you cut through all the stuff that doesn’t really matter.
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Marcel Lemieux/starflight Says:
4 January 2010 at 11:03 pm.
I was invited to a supper at my sister place for Christmas..gee what will i wear.. well i went to a store i know and bought jeans and shirts and a very cool parka, a coat that can with stand really cold weather..in all 250.00$…had a nice party…a few days ago there was a snow storm outside..i,m here in front of the computer, yet i see the storm..well time to try out my coat..2 cameras ready..i,m off..in the back roads of the country to capture a lovely scene..gee i can,t even see the road..well let,s try sunglasses..hum a bit better…i,m alone out here..i,m alive..i,m crazy, i,m happy..got a few nice shots and the coat is warm..after more than an hour i,m heading back home….i push myself to taste life, to be alive..enough said…life is a now thing..what is my purpose..what is life..a huge experience of many things..and its all ok…whatever it is for you ..do it, you will never regret it…thank you Robin for all that you are…peace
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Patty - Why Not Start Now? Says:
4 January 2010 at 11:18 pm.
Hi Robin – I love what you’ve written here, and we’re kind of in sync – I just wrote about how we use “if only” to defer meaning making in our lives. Because yes, we do play that waiting game you speak of, and set up conditions for our lives. Often without realizing it, I think. Forgetting that time is precious, and this day will not come again. I’ve been there myself in the past, but now I want to make each and every day count. Thanks for the loving inspiration and reminder, Patty
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Wilma Ham Says:
5 January 2010 at 12:01 am.
Oh perfection!
It is a thorn, a crumbled, decayed leaf that crackles underfoot, a dead tree and its sculptured branches, a head wind, rain on your face on your holiday, a song sung with tears for joy, a wrinkled body that houses a loving heart, crooked teeth in a mouth that say loving words.
Perfection is Life Form that arises from love and eyes alone never see it, ears alone never hear it, a mouth alone never speaks it, a body alone never feels it, the mind alone can never reach it.
Divine Robin, through your eyes that are focused by love, we can see and feel perfection, so we finally get to see it too. I am so grateful, a perfect hug for you, Wilma
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Bern Says:
5 January 2010 at 12:13 am.
So wonderfully put forward Robin…. if we decide to redefine perfection as jumping into the moment, then there is no longer any waiting to become perfect at the perfect time. Everything is as it should be in the Moment. Acting with this knowledge allows us to swim along any shores that we may come in contact with. We can always find the fluidity of Being and enjoy dunking our heads when we truly learn to feel that which is before us. And by engaging or marrying that which we encounter momentarily, we find ourselves in the best shape of our lives.
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floreta Says:
5 January 2010 at 12:51 am.
lol, I always eat dessert first 
And yes, these sentiments are exactly why I feel I am a proponent of “lifestyle design”. And also why I connect with taoism. “Go with the flow.” Don’t wait for life to happen, LIVE IT!
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Stacey Says:
5 January 2010 at 1:28 am.
Robin,
You expressed this so beautifully. Why have we as a society become so comfortable ‘waiting’? I believe some of this is that we have been taught to listen to/worry about what others think is best for us, so we resign our personal power to ‘outside’ forces, waiting for someone or something else to take that first step for us.
Our lives are simply too short to wait to do anything that calls to us. It is so easy to make excuses to not do something, take the time to make the excuses to do it! As you so beautifully say, Go for your swim! Dive into life, enjoy each moment of it, for that is what we are here for! Don’t let your own mind hold you back, for we are only limited to what we do in life by ourselves and our beliefs.
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Walter Says:
5 January 2010 at 1:50 am.
I’ve been waiting for years to go out West, ever since I had that strange dream about a corn woman and the Zuni elders. In the dream, I am in a large room on the far side of the room I see the elders of the tribe. They look at me but do not speak. They send a plump young woman over to me. I see that she is not walking, but floats to me across the room to me. She said said her name was Corn Woman and that the elders have requested that I come visit them at the Zuni Pueblo. Why me? I know nothing about the gliding girl with the strange name, or about the Zuni. But I never had a dream like that before. It keeps pulling at me, but I have resisted going. If I were to go, I have no idea where they are or what I would do if I ever got there. Or what they would expect of me. I’m only part Indian, there is no reason for it to be more than just a crazy dream.
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Chrissy Says:
5 January 2010 at 2:18 am.
What a fabulous post Robin 
it is a real nice thought for the new year. I think even those who do try to live each moment can often prevaricate now and then. I know I do. Another one that am really guilty of is what if? I won’t do this because what if this happens…
It is part of my nature to think like this, I am a full cup for here and now but I can be an empty cup if I look ahead. Thankfully, I am aware of this and I have someone who shares my life who spots it if I relapse.
Because of course it is like putting obstacles in front of your dreams.
I know when my bruv we discussed living and he felt he had seen more of life at 39 than most people would ever see in a lifetime. He had enjoyed travelling, he had some fantastic experiences. Whilst I still think it was by by far too young to die, he taught/reminded me a lot about living with some of our discussions when he was facing death…
Incidentally his one regret was that he didn’t bunk off work to do important things a little more often! I think we can all learn something from this.
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Tara S. Dickherber, M.Ed, CPC Says:
5 January 2010 at 7:00 am.
Always save room for dessert! Life’s too short to not have fun!!
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Oza Meilleur a.k.a. Mudd Lavoie Says:
5 January 2010 at 9:09 am.
Whoawww… How inspiring is THAT?!!!
Thank you, merci beaucoup,
gracias Rockin’ Robin
Funny that I should come across this particular blog post this morning as I’ve decided only yesterday to do exactly what it’s asking of me: to stop waiting and DO DO DO.
Last year was all about getting rid of the Perfectionist Monster = done! This year, it’ll be all about getting used to putting myself “out there,” be it physically or virtually. And being consistent. And kicking myself oh so softly in the patoozy to be more creative and productive. No more hesitating — just PLAY and see what happens!
So thanks for being such a cool, wise, beautiful gal.
How grateful I am to know you.
Peace & Love & Everybody Conga,
Mudd a.k.a. AbracadOza
xoxo
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Larry McDowell Says:
5 January 2010 at 9:38 am.
As usual, your timing is perfection. Last night, I was contemplating why I wait to get things important to me done. In particular; my song writing. I have yet to release any of my songs because I want them to be “perfect.” The problem with this is that there is nothing to listen to and nothing to share. How un-perfect is that? What is ironic it this whole deal is that things that I perceive as “perfect” are sometimes only “so-so” to another individual. While something that I’m not too particularly proud of or feels needs more work, is the favorite of all. So perfection is the in the eye of the beholder, sort of speak.
Another thought: Getting it perfect every time would then mean that there isn’t any learning taking place. The best works, whether it’s music, art, business, etc… usually come into being only after many mistakes and imperfections.
This all makes sense to me and I get what I need to do. My question is: how can I get out of this need for perfection mindset? Instead of inspiring me, it inhibits me. Frustration and the want to give up begins to manifest.
As always, thanks for the post!!!
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Plastic Mancunian Says:
5 January 2010 at 10:10 am.
Hi Robin,
I am a perfectionist and stand guilty as charged. However as I get older I realise that I should just go for it and not worry about “the perfect day for this” and “the perfect day for that”. Wise words as usual, Robin.
However, I think I will have to draw the line at singing though because my voice sounds like that of a cat that was rejected from the feline choral society for having the screechiest voice in cat-dom (though I hasten to add I have been caught singing in a supermarket when I momentarily forgot where I was).
Cheers
PM
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Betsy S. Franz Says:
5 January 2010 at 10:52 am.
Very nice. I think it goes along very well with what I said in this blog post:
http://tinyurl.com/yeabrl6
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Hilary Says:
5 January 2010 at 1:25 pm.
Hi Robin .. watching your video last week .. I thought to myself – well they haven’t given in .. and they haven’t just parked, looked and retreated .. even the video inspired the message ‘don’t wait’ .. just experience.
This year .. has to be the year of forward momentum and your message endorses that, and encourages me .. so true – your tales and analogies ..
It’s ours to be had – we are living each moment, we need to savour all ..
Enjoy the New Year in the Mesa ..
Hilary Melton-Butcher
Positive Letters Inspirational Stories
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Fatima Da Says:
5 January 2010 at 4:04 pm.
Beautiful post Robin and I ponder what are we waiting for? the madness of trying to get everything right and forgetting to live and enjoy every pervious moment as you have highlighted… Thanks for sharing this is good food for thought
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John - Zen-Moments Says:
5 January 2010 at 4:17 pm.
Robin,
Your encouragement to stop waiting and instead to, take action, is the key to all human progress. Life is change. Nothing is in stasis.
Engage the moment,
John
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Steven Aitchison Says:
5 January 2010 at 11:22 pm.
Hi Robin, you’re in danger of becoming a deity, a modern day female buddha, without the little rotund belly of course
This is a great post about seizing the moment.
Do you know a strange thing happens when I read your posts, I sort of say to myself ‘She’s absolutely right’ then I sort of well up, I don’t cry or anything, it’s like the welling up you feel when you speak from the heart to someone and you realise how truthful your words are. I am not doing the feeling justice but I hope you understand what I mean
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Nadia - Happy Lotus Says:
6 January 2010 at 11:48 am.
Hi Robin,
Happy New Year!
Amen to everything you wrote! Many times in my life, I have had to jump off the cliff and just do what my heart called me to do. I have never regretted it. Life is to be enjoyed and often in life we are faced with opportunities where we can either take a risk or play it safe.
Nothing of value or merit in life was ever accomplished by playing it safe. Life is what we make out of it. The key is to be conscious of what is happening within us and go with what we are guided to do. Any decision made out of fear will never be a wise decision.
And the learning in life never stops too. Opportunities for growth will always occur and that is just awesome.
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Mike Foster Says:
6 January 2010 at 11:48 pm.
As usual, you hit the nail on the head, Robin. Life is a precious commodity that should never be wasted waiting for the right moment to live it. You know I am a huge advocate of all that you preach and walk the walk and talk the talk myself. My site’s not called livelife365 for nothing. Loved the vid, by the way.
peace,
mike
livelife365
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Grampa Ken for social change Says:
7 January 2010 at 6:52 am.
We should try to enjoy today simply because it is not coming back. Stephen Leacock lamented;
“Why are we such fools – such tragic fools? How strange it is, our little procession of life. The child says, ‘when I am a big boy’. But what is that? the big boy says, ‘when I grow up’. And then, grown up, he says, ‘when I get married’. But to be married, what is that after all? The thought changes to, ‘when I retire’. And then when retirement comes, he looks back over the landscape traversed; a cold wind seems to sweep over it; somehow he has missed it all, and it is gone. Life, we learn too late, life is in the living, in the tissue of every day and hour”.
Have a great day!
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Chris Edgar Says:
7 January 2010 at 10:58 am.
Hi Robin — thanks for this reminder — it’s time for me to hold a group workshop based on the ideas in my book, and I have been putting it off, thinking that I need to be more of this or that. But within the next few months, the workshop will happen.
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nothingprofound Says:
7 January 2010 at 12:36 pm.
Always loved this Thornton Wider quote: “My advice to you is not to inquire why or wither, but just enjoy your ice cream while it’s on your plate.” Right now, my ice cream are these words I’m typing, and I’m enjoying it immensely.
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ZuzannaM Says:
7 January 2010 at 9:25 pm.
Dear Robin,
I have been waiting for many things, until I read your latest article…
Stopped waiting and DO NOT wait anymore. No point to wait as there is any perfection in anywhere. I was going to say “I am still waiting for that perfect man”- I hope you are there…LOL:)
Thank you so much for the wonderful thought provoking post, and as always delightful to read!
Have a great New Year 2010!
Warmest wishes,
From Zuzanna
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Tess The Bold Life Says:
8 January 2010 at 12:07 pm.
Robin,
Steve’s comment is funny and true! It’s been rare that I’ve waited for any moment…well OK maybe you have me with the swimsuit issue;)
Thanks for the reminder, perfectly timing at the start of a New Year. This will encourage anyone to raise the bar on living life to it’s limits. Oh I forgot there are no limits!
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Walter Says:
9 January 2010 at 3:57 am.
As my mother would say, “Poop or get off the pot.” life is too short for procrastination. Hey, that sounds a lot like constipation. And that reminds me of “Procrastinated Constipation” by David Lester Young. But it is not very up lifting, so I will leave it at that.
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Walter Says:
9 January 2010 at 6:30 am.
We are living in a state of perfection. But we choose to alter this state and we are not aware of this foolishness.
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Olga H. Says:
9 January 2010 at 9:19 am.
Hi Robin,
Thanks for all these so sweet words !
I agree with you: “there’s not perfection but Love is, so we have to do everyday of our life a day to love” –
May this new year be sweet and peaceful for you and yours !
Kisses,
Love,
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Julie Says:
9 January 2010 at 3:55 pm.
Goodness, once again we’re on the same wavelength. Only, LOL, you’re much more succinct than I! You explain it so clearly, too. What a wonderful piece you’re created here. I just love it!
Life’s meant to be thoroughly enjoyed NOW. I wonder how many of us will reflect back, tonight, on all the wasted moments of the day, the things we could have done but didn’t, the time we could have spent reviving ourselves, enjoying ourselves, relishing the rediscovery—even for a few minutes—of who we are. And then to think about all the ripple effects of that goodness, the ripple effects that didn’t occur because we didn’t take the time.
Oh, this is sounding so maudlin, but that’s not at all what I mean. What I mean is that just like “Love” is an action, so is “Life.” When we opt to not take action, what we’re really choosing is to try to keep Life at bay. Why? Goodness, goodness… It’s so easy, especially in the extremes of hot and cold (for me, anyway), to settle into comfort and just stay there, but that’s not living. That’s just a resting place.
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gene Says:
10 January 2010 at 8:04 am.
Wonderful post, again!!
I was actually thinking about this the past week or so, weird!!
But it’s true what you are saying, and I can’t help but be angry at myself for all the opportunities that I missed. That is why I went into this new year with my new years resolution being “I want to do more, more of anything and everything”
There shouldn’t be a moment where I sit and wonder what I can do, I must be busy 24/7, with anything, anything that makes me happy~!!!
There is a saying: “Life waits for no one!!!”
You know what, I saw the weather for USA and Uk the other night, damn but it’s cold there, are you coping with all that cold?? We have lovely warm summer days, and lots of rain!!!! HAHAHA
Hope you are well!!
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dawn hild Says:
10 January 2010 at 2:47 pm.
You can count me in all my middle-aged glory on living TODAY. Because the fact of the matter is… we are not always guaranteed a tomorrow. My parents are a perfect example of that. Being middle income, they didn’t have bunches of money and according to most should have probably made “better” financial choices. But, my crazy mom and dad lived life to the fullest… traveling and having fun. Loving each other and all those around them. Then one morning at age 58, mom didn’t wake up. She had died of a pulmonary embolism during the night. Her tomorrow for dinner with the good china didn’t come. Wonderful life experiences is her legacy and I am proud of that!
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David Says:
12 January 2010 at 9:42 am.
This post stays with me every day and probably will for a long time. As a result it has invaded my soul as I make important changes. The world’s worst procrastinator is trying to make some changes. This post was perfectly timed to coincide with the beginning of a new year. Could it be a new life? Why not. Watching you being blown around the top of that mountain really did it for me Robin. Thank you once again for a wonderful and inspiring look into your world.
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Michelle Says:
13 January 2010 at 9:50 am.
I love to have dessert first!
But I am guilty of waiting… An incident over the holidays has driven me to explore a little more ‘visionary’ art. I want to finish up a current series of paintings first, but, I am not sure I can make this ‘wait’. Heck, I am not even sure what it is yet…
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timethief Says:
13 January 2010 at 11:32 am.
People who tend to set extremely high standards and are dissatisfied with anything less than perfection are difficult to be around and horrible to work for. Its particularly bad if you are self employed and you’re the perfectionist. I know this because it describes the “me” I used to be.
When I was young I was guilty of waiting for that perfect moment. However, after I fought my battle with the big C and won, and then recovered from an accident that resulted in another near death experience I learned how to live my life to the fullest in the now moment. Now I’m a courageous risk taker who is able to view every failure as a stepping stone to success.
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Robb Says:
13 January 2010 at 2:43 pm.
Kia ora Robin,
Tara and I had a long talk the other night, based around not letting little things get in our way, about my own struggle to not sink into the depths of the mundane by not doing things we want to because other things are in the way, or by having the mountains which free my soul removed from my physical life. I think over the years we have started to get there, but it is important for us to sit down and remind ourselves, to look in each others eyes and reaffirm these things, to feel her hand upon me knowing how much I hurt and that she understands. I felt so alive – and I wasn’t even in the mountains! So maybe I am learning to adapt a bit, and finding such moments out here. These next 6 months will be hard, I am scheduled for surgery on 8 April, and with recovery am aiming for a tramp in July for my 50th birthday. I think Tara’s eyes were brighter than mine as she spoke of how excited she was to think of me, pain free and roaming in those hills, drinking from those beautiful pristine waters. So I am trying to find focus untuil that moment happens, thank you Wild Sister for your continued inspiration. Rave on. Kia kaha.
Aroha,
Robb
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Joseph @ about the fascinating Says:
18 January 2010 at 10:12 am.
What are we waiting for?
Yes, I agree completely with your sentiments. We should just seize the moment instead because we never know when our last moment will be.
Great post.
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Richard | RichardShelmerdine.com Says:
2 February 2010 at 2:47 am.
Perfection is an inner timeless state. You will never find it in circumstances or things outside of your true self so stop looking for it there!
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Qu'attendez-vous pour ... la perfection? Says:
15 February 2010 at 11:50 pm.
[...] J'ai appris à travers toutes mes erreurs et des succès que la vie et d'apprentissage est un processus vivant. Quelque chose qui se fait par l'expérience nous-mêmes et la Vie. Ce n'est que lorsque nous avons l'audace de sauter dans le fleuve de la vie que nous devenions vraiment la vie. Nous ne sommes plus sur le pont d'attente. . . . séparée de la vie. URL article original: http://nakedineden.com/nakedinedenblog/what-are-you-waiting-for-perfection/ [...]
