Finding Joy.

I love a good book.  Right now I am loving Brené Brown’s books.  I just finished The Gifts of Imperfection.  I loved that one so much that I couldn’t wait to start Daring Greatly.  What I love about Brené Brown’s message is how real it is.  It speaks to me in a way that no other self-help/personal narrative has ever done.

When I wear my perfectionist armor, I have a hard time with balance in my life.  I know the imbalance makes me unhappy.  But, within my perfectionist armor, there never seem to be enough hours in the day to search for happiness or figure out why it eludes me.  Through Brené Brown’s book, I have learned why I have such a hard time feeling joyful or even just happy when I am in perfection mode.  My perfection causes me to fill my time with things for other people; things that turn me into the person I think I should be, not the person I am.  Authenticity is one of the keys to a joyful life.

In The Gifts of Imperfection, Brené Brown lists 10 guideposts that her research found are part of the process of living a wholehearted (joy filled and authentic) life.  Guidepost number 6 is cultivating creativity.  After spending time studying her book, I realized just how important this one is to me.  I also realized how easy cultivating creativity is to push aside when I feel crunched on time...along with exercise!

For me, my first creative love is photography followed by writing.  I don't photograph or write for anything more than the need for balance.  For me, going out and taking some shots of my kids being silly, or writing about how I see the world, seems to restore my balance. Brené Brown reminds me that my creative endeavors do not need to be perfect, nor do they need to live up to someone else’s ideas of good; they just need to be good enough for me.  As a matter of fact, seeking perfection squashes creativity.

Of the 9000 photos I took in 2012 to express my creative self, this photo of my dog is my favorite.  We were on vacation at a lake and I happened to captured her running free through the woods on her way to the lake.  She loved every minute of this day.  At the moment I captured this shot, I wasn't worried about getting the perfect picture.  I just wanted to try to capture her joy as she ran.  If my only concern would have been to capture the perfect photo, I would have missed this shot.  I favor this photo because it reminds me to let go of perfection and instead reach for joy.