The grass patch in front of my Lancaster City home continues to grow. With the numerous amounts of rain and lack of time I’ve had to get out the “reel lawn mower” in the past weeks, it just hasn’t gotten the attention it needs.
And it is just the beginning of multiple imperfections in my life at the moment.
It all starts with grass.
Walk through the front door of Sunshine Cottage and you’ll probably want to turn right back around due to the disarray of “organized chaos” currently happening in what seems to be all rooms of the home.
In all fairness, the house is going through some extensive remodeling at the moment, so the chaos is justified…for now at least.
Items are thrown in piles on the floor, the coffee table is full of thank you note materials for my running campaign, and dust seems to be setting up shop around every little nook and cranny.
And I embrace it. 110%.
I’m not sure if it is just me; however, I feel like society throws in our faces the need to live perfect lives…in perfect homes…with perfect clothes…perfect people, and perfect “stuff” surrounding us.
Well, breaking news everyone. Rip out the front page headline. I call BS.
And I’m saying NO to society at the top of my lungs as I navigate these waters of life.
I want to be different. I want to be outside the box. I want to be against the status quo that we are influenced and surrounded by constantly.
I embrace the messy house that hasn’t been cleaned in weeks, the messy car that hasn’t been cleaned in (I can’t even remember when), the shoes falling apart with holes, the one who looks in the mirror and realizes that I shouldn’t change my personality or life ethic for anyone.
The billboard ad that you pass by every day on your way to work that shows the individual pictured smiling big because they just spent money on the latest and greatest fashion at Abercrombie and Fitch…is that actual true happiness?
Or the commercial that tells you to buy the newest version of the IPhone because it has a bigger and better camera and “everyone is doing it.” Are the photos you are going to snap with that ever-so-clear camera really going to display true happiness?
Is the selfie photo that you decided to put up on Instagram after 10 attempts of capturing perfection really telling the world who you truly are or forcing you to hide behind a filter?
Is going to the gym 7 days a week to achieve what society calls a “hot beach bod” really going to bring about everlasting feelings of pure joy and bliss 10 years from now?
Society tells us to “buy this, do that, and to be more like this person.” And I say NO.
Embrace the imperfections. OWN the imperfections. Realize that what society throws in our faces is not a cure all answer to the complicated equation known as life.
Life isn’t about having the most friends, the most money, the most expensive luxuries, or being the most popular. It’s about making positive change in the world with what you have and lifting up others.
Gandhi once said, “Be the change you wish to see in the world.”
We are the ones who have the ability to live out Gandhi’s quote each and every day. We are the ones who have the power to ignite flames of passion in others around us to create positive change. We are the ones who have the power to display love and kindness to ALL regardless of their social status, religion, ethnicity, skin color, or sexual orientation.
We are the ones who can embrace our imperfections 110%.
Stop worrying about what society claims to think you need for a “perfect” life. It’s a load of bull and bologna.
Be different. Go outside the box. Go against the status quo.
Find your very own overgrown patch of grass and embrace it.
Embrace the imperfections. They are what make us genuine, human beings capable of living, feeling, and loving.
Sprinkle sunshine always,
JP!
Mr. Sunshine Smiles 