I remember going to see Babe in cinemas. I was eight years old and it was my first grown up film (and by grown up I mean live action, not dubbed, in English and with subtitles). It felt like a rite of passage and a test to my budding reading skills.
The thing that stuck with me more than anything was the final shot of the farmer looking down at Babe and uttering the magical words "That'll do, pig. That'll do.". I remember how good those words felt. Like a gulp of water when you've been parched for so long.
They sounded of utter acceptance. Of being enough. And in this day and age we have been raised to believe and feel we are never enough. We have been taught to strive for perfect, even though we know that doesn't exist. We live our lives chasing and impossible dream. A carrot on the end of a stick that we will never - ever! - reach.
Think about it; our society is built around making us feel flawed, insecure, unworthy and miserable. Through billboards and media everywhere there is the eternal message that you will not be happy until you own the new model of whatever car or phone, until you look like an impossible picture from a magazine (not even models look like that, which must do wonders for their self-esteem and self-worth!, but I digress), until you watch the must-see film of the year, until, until, until.
And it seems we are leading our lives waiting for that perfect tomorrow that will never arrive. This fact coupled with the constant feeling of failure because who we are and what we do is never enough poisons our days and undermines our self-worth.
So if perfect does not exist, why are we still using that word? Why can't we just accept that we are enough right here and right now? We have enough skills, enough willpower, enough talents, enough blessings to be happy right now.
Over the years that one line has become one of my biggest mantras. "That'll do, pig. That'll do." Because I am enough. Yes, I can and I choose to improve my life. I want to explore and to push way past my comfort zone. There are so many new and exciting adventures awaiting me out there. But all of this comes from a place of knowing I am already enough.
Because perfectionism is a joy killer and enough is where happiness lives. When you accept that something or someone is enough you stop trying to improve it and you start to enjoy it. To live mindfully in the moment. You accept the little flaws in order to enjoy the good.
The living room may not be perfectly tidy, but it is tidy enough, so you grab your book and your mug of tea and enjoy an afternoon reading in the sofa. Your child may take longer to complete a certain task, or do it in a less effective way, but instead of getting frustrated you tell yourself that the fact the task got done in the end is enough, at least for now. The sky may not be perfectly cloudless, but it's sunny and bright enough to enjoy a walk in the park you might not have done if you had otherwise stayed in waiting for perfect weather. A conversation with a someone you care about may not have been perfect and they might even have stepped on your toes a bit, but you see the meaning and intentions behind the words and suddenly you get it and that is enough.
I've come to the realisation that enough is all you need and I live my life on a quest against perfection. Because at the end of the day "That'll do, pig. That'll do" will do it every time.
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