The Pursuit of Perfection: The Irony of It All

Last weekend I attended one of those events that send my giddiness over the moon and my imagination overflowing with DIY ideas.

I attended my extended cousin’s wife’s baby shower!  Haha, it’s a mouthful isn’t it? I utterly love and appreciate these few relatives that are in my life, not to mention, who actually live only about 15 minutes away!  I grew up not ever having had the opportunity to see my relatives because they all live in the distant land of Korea.

Christina’s belly is just about ready to release that darling baby, and what surprised me was that she looks as healthy as ever without any pregnancy side-effects.  That’s so awesome and it gives me hope that my future pregnancy(ies) will be smooth sailing.    I don’t know about you, but I think her stomach looks amazing and perfect.  So cute!

Turns out that my cousin is pregnant as well, and she’s already 5.5 months into her pregnancy.  It’s quite comical that all of us have been getting married and pregnant—well, except me.  At least not for a while!

Christina is such a DIY (Do it yourself) queen that all the way from her wedding to her first baby shower, everything was made my hand.  I am in love with this little yarn ball!  I can’t wait to make some time and tackle this little project in the future.

And of course, a good share of tasty dessert, cake and food was consumed.  I particularly loved the mini lemon cupcake and shortbread thumbprint cookie!  It’s probably one of my favorite cookies because it brings me sweet memories of Argentina.  Now, I feel like for somebody who was super elated to welcome a new member into the family while having a blast at a party full of women and good food, I had pretty good self control with the way I ate.  I wish that on this post I could give you ways of “How to:  control your cravings, etc.”  But I feel lead to write about something different and perhaps a bit on the touchy side.

One thing of which I’ve come to realize (more so still in the process of learning and embracing) is the importance of balance in my life.  Ah—that good ol’ balance that we all long for and work so hard to achieve!

I consider myself a rather healthy eater and once in a while I consume a few meals here and there that contain heavier ingredients than preferred, and sometimes they require more leniency of my part to just “let go” and simply eat it without thinking about it twice.  Many of the meals that I show on the blog may seem a bit on the sugary side as of late.  The reasoning behind that is because I want to show others that in order to be physically healthy, we don’t need to be 100% perfect in our diet.  I sometimes tend to struggle with needing to eat 100% healthy food because a) certain things can mess with my stomach b) there’s an all or nothing mentality that stems from my slightly disordered past.  I tend to lean towards the “all” side.  Nevertheless, I want to make it a point to readers and to myself that although we should definitely consume wholesome food full of nutrients along with supplements to better nourish our bodies, there’s a fine line between healthy and what some call, “orthorexic”.

Please please!  Before you go any further and get defensive about this term, remember that I’m just talking about the difference between a healthy balance and obsessive habits that can be destructive.

Not very surprisingly, God has been showing me through marriage that I can’t reach perfection in any area of my life.  I’ve been realizing more and more that if we STRESS about perfection and healthy this and healthy that to an EXCESSIVE point, then that preoccupation itself can potentially become unhealthy for our mind and soul.  I believe that in anything in life, whether it be our diet, workout regimen, our jobs, our relationships, our schooling, if we take it to a perfectionistic attitude it will only end up harming us inside.  It is so important to watch out for ourselves and not become wrapped up in IDOLIZING those things—which is HARD NOT TO DO!

I’m not suggesting that we need to settle for less because on the contrary, God wants us to strive for high standards in our endeavors and in the way that we love others.   In fact, I plan on treating the people in my life with loads of veggies and healthy treats as some of them are suffering from diabetes.  But what I AM suggesting is that we need to embrace reality and have the right heart and mindset; our lives are so much more short lived and temporary than we might think.  We need to aim for good health while being open to bumps on the road.

Healthy living is an amazing thing and I wouldn’t stop pursuing it, and neither should you.  But I need to remind myself that perfection in ANYTHING IN LIFE is not possible, nor will it ever happen because this is a fallen world.  As you’ve probably heard the saying, “it’s about the journey, not about the destination”, this holds true in the case of pursuing health.  May we remember that life isn’t about perfection and that the more lenient and resilient we are in all of life’s circumstances, the more blessed we will be.   So let’s hold each other accountable because this ain’t easy for me either.  Deal?

Now, let’s eat healthy!

Then nosh on that big juicy burger.

Get down on that yoga mat and crank out some burpees.

But be okay with not eating the perfect meal and eat like everyone else at that party you’re attending.

Be flexible.  Be resilient.  Be joyful and be thankful for this life [and the next].

God loves you for who you are and not what you achieve.  Same goes for me although I’m still in the process of learning this truth.

Do you have all-or-nothing tendencies?  If so, what areas do you struggle with?

Do you consider yourself resilient and lenient when it comes to healthy living?

Love,

Ellie <33

Tagged as: desserts, family, food for thought, God's grace, healthy eating, healthy living