“I’m Perfectly Imperfect ”
We are Human—imperfect, special, and complex creatures created with our own beautiful and unique flaws. We have strengths and weaknesses that allow us to excel in certain areas of life and to falter in others. While some people paint the daily image of “having it all together” or appear to never ever mess up in life, the truth is that none of us are perfect or able to do everything flawlessly. Life is messy. There comes a point in time of accepting who we are and recognizing what we are capable of, and we will never get away from a thing called Mistakes. Even the greatest achievers, celebrities, athletes, politicians, and role models alike have all made mistakes at some period of their lifetime. Indeed, we are just human. Of course, there is a difference in making mistakes that harm others and continuing to repeat them, and then there are mistakes that we make unintentionally or by accident, with or without having the best interest at heart. The beauty of accepting that we are just merely human makes us easier to see the other side of the lens from a different angle. What appears to be a horrific mistake in the eyes of one person can create a completely profound perspective and impact to another.
Some of us carry heavy baggage from our past and dwell upon our mistakes and shortcomings daily, maybe wishing that somehow, we could put it behind us and forget about it completely, or even pretend that it never happened or existed. Even when life is going seemingly well, something from our past resurfaces into the present and the fear of others finding out or even knowing can cause our whole world to crumble if we allow it to control us. The problem is that we focus too much on past mistakes and events that have happened to us instead of moving forward from it. Many of us may struggle with our childhood or analyze how we were raised and blame others for things that have happened to us, but no matter how hard we try we cannot change the past; however, we can accept responsibility for it, always learn from it, and use that wisdom to not repeat them and to inspire others.
“Learn from what We Do, and Do what We Learn”
You see, we all have our own personal story to tell. Some of our stories may be more heartbreaking or painful than others, but we all have experienced something that has had a life changing effect on who we are and what we have become. Whether it be the loss of a loved one, public humiliation, a job lay-off, divorce, addiction, jail time, or even a broken heart, all these occurrences that have happened in the past do not define who you are today. Do not dwell upon a series of unfortunate events that have happened to you or that you think you caused, do not regret a thing. If these things didn’t happen, it may have never led you to becoming or experiencing something better, something more beautiful that you could ever have imagined to be. Rather turn it around and use your past failures as your most powerful sword to strengthen your character and to be the very best version of yourself.
The world in today’s generation can be frightening, dangerous, and corrupt on so many levels, and with our busy lives we often forget to take time to allow for any healing or self-reflection to evaluate why and how mistakes happen. One minute everything is peaceful and right with nature, and the next minute there can be anguish, sorrow, and complete devastation. Transform these events into your most valuable assets that not only you can learn from, but that others can learn from as well. Do not lack self-confidence just because you have endured a dark past. Whatever happened in the past is what makes you become the better person you are right now in this moment, and believe that you are strong-willed and sensible minded to recognize that these mistakes no longer characterize who you were. Do not be afraid of your past, embrace it. Begin to live the life you were meant to live and become the person you were made to be.
“Whatever happened in the past is what makes you become the better person you are right now in this moment”
This sentiment pays tribute to one of our most inspiring batik patterns, Alas-alasan, a motif that depicts a myriad of all the nature elements of the world, to remind us to return to nature and allow genuine time for self-reflection and gratitude. Remember that having made mistakes, whether small or monumental, is not going to end your life. In fact, the sum of mistakes made can be advantageous and might just be the exact fuel needed to light your fire in this beautiful, big, and imperfect world. After all, if we were all perfect and none of us had our own stories of strife to share, grow, and learn from each other with, life would be a very boring and meaningless existence! And that’s not the world I want to live in, do you?
~with Love, RJ
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