Work in Progress
I made pancakes last weekend. The first batch didn’t turn out. Honestly, they never do. No matter how many years I’ve been making pancakes, the first batch is always a little too done (read: burned) on one side and then a little misshapen because of an over-eager cook with a spatula (read: me).
Regardless, I keep making the pancakes, batch after batch. And they do seem to get just a bit better each time. My pancakes are literally a work in progress. I never throw the batter out when the initial pancakes are bad. I keep cooking.
I think we sometimes forget that people are also works in progress.
Perfection is a lie.
In a world of fake everything—it’s good to remember that people are imperfect and messy. All people are, not just the ones we call “screw-ups”.
For example, I go to the gym five days a week. I don’t go because I’m so fit and want everyone else to see my beautiful muscles. 😳 I go because exercise helps quiet my mind. I go because my shoulders hurt, and stretching them out seems to help. I go because I am trying to get stronger. I go to the gym to push my limits and see what I can do.
I also go to church every week. Contrary to some opinions I’ve heard, I am not going so everyone will believe my family is amazing. I don’t parade my big family into the pews so other people will notice our beauty, reverence, or anything else they think they see. I certainly don’t go to get ammunition to judge my neighbors. For me, a church is a hospital. It’s where I go to get help with all things spiritual. I go so I can be a little better than I was last week. I go because I am a work in progress.
The next time you make yourself some pancakes, think about how you react to your first batch. If they look less than stellar, you don’t throw everything out and give up. You make small adjustments to the heat and maybe the time they cook, and you keep going. You show up and try again. And again. And again. Then give yourself and everyone around you the same compassion and the same room for growth.
People, like pancakes, are works in progress.
