One of my favorite quotes on the OneJourney site comes from an unlikely source — the late songwriter and poet, Leonard Cohen. The quote goes like this:
Ring the bell that still can ring. Forget the perfect offering. There is a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in. — Leonard Cohen (1934 – 2016)
There’s something about these words that fills me with peace. They help me realize I don’t have to continue to struggle to be something I’m not. It’s the humility that comes with realizing our imperfections that allows the entry of the transforming power of the Divine.
I thought about this today because I just listened to a talk given by OneJourney founder and director Guy Finley. It was a live talk Guy gave in Florida, and although I live in Oregon, I was able to watch it in real-time on his YouTube channel.
I want to share with you some of the main points he made during his talk, because I think they are so important for us to hear. In our demand to be perfect, and that others be perfect according to our definition of perfection, we torment ourselves and everyone else. We try to make the world conform to our ideas, and the result is hatred and violence. But here is some of the wisdom Guy shared that can change our relationship with ourselves, with life, and with every other human being.
Embrace Imperfection
As Guy explained, a huge source of our pain is the fear of not being perfect. We think we know what perfection is, and we judge ourselves and everyone else from a part of us that never stops measuring and comparing. And when we come up short, or judge others as coming up short, that same nature “fixes” the deficient one with a “hammer,” whether it be a cold look, hurtful words, or even physical violence.
What we must realize is that we’re all incomplete. There’s a crack in everything — including each one of us. The beauty is that life, with all its passing experiences, is meant to give us everything we need to develop. And it will if we don’t interfere with the process by trying to complete ourselves with anger, justification, and blaming. We can outgrow ourselves and be transformed if we don’t try to prove to ourselves that we’re already perfect. That’s when life can do what it is waiting to do, which is to bring us to a higher level of ourselves.
We resist seeing what we don’t want to see about ourselves, which is everything that is imperfect in us. But resistance can’t learn. So, when we find ourselves coming up against our imperfections, we must have the courage not to do what we always do, which is to look away. That means we must resist the temptation to judge ourselves or others, justify our position, or point the finger of blame at someone else for causing the pain we feel. All of these actions are a form of looking away from the real source of pain within ourselves, but it is only by seeing the pain that it can be healed.
It’s crucial that we look at our imperfections and embrace awareness of them. This is letting in the light that transforms us.
As a Gift to You, Here Is the Link to This Extraordinary Talk
Guy’s talk was a full hour followed by a 30-minute Q&A session, and it was filled with memorable stories and deep explanations. I could just touch the surface in my summary here. If you would like to watch the entire talk, here is the video on YouTube:
I know you will enjoy the talk and will learn important lessons about how the pressure we put on ourselves and others to be perfect interferes with the natural process that is the true path to a more perfect self.
Best wishes,
Dr. Ellen Dickstein
The OneJourney Project
PS: You are invited to attend Guy Finley’s FREE online talks on these powerful and life-changing ideas. He speaks twice every week, and all his talks are livestreamed and archived! For details visit guyfinley.org/freeclass
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