Excellence Does Not Require Perfection

Perfectionism is a frozen form of idealism

THREE-PERCENT MASTERY: AN EMPIRICAL APPROACH

To achieve “beginner’s mind,” we dispense with our preconceptions and enter each situation as if seeing it for the first time. “In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities,” wrote Zen teacher Shunryu Suzuki, “but in the expert’s there are few.” 

As much as I love beginner’s mind, I suggest we also practice beginner’s heart. That means approaching every encounter with a fresh wave of innocent, tender, generous curiosity. It’s as pure a feeling as if we are invoking it for the first time. 

When we cultivate beginner’s heart, we do so to enhance our ability to understand reality. It doesn’t mean we indiscriminately make ourselves vulnerable to people and situations that might exploit or hurt us. 

The ever-evolving truth is far too complicated and fluid and slippery and scrambled and gorgeously abundant for one soul to understand—even for genius bodhisattva avatars. (I have heard rumors that there have been a few such characters.) 

I am lucky to have bumped up my personal degree of mastery to about three percent. That’s how much (how little) I understand of the Maddening and Delightful Mystery we are embedded in. 

Shocking! I am missing 97 percent of the truth—even though I have always been greedy to learn and experience as much as I can. 

Out of necessity, to compensate for my gaping ignorance, I have come up with a strategy to guide me. I formulate amusing, nonbinding hypotheses about what the Great Mystery might be like. Then I collect the experimental data generated as I test my hypotheses. Finally, I observe and analyze the results to determine how well each hypothesis works. 

• Does it liberate me from suffering, and does it inspire me to help liberate other creatures from their suffering?  

• Does it make me a smarter and kinder and trickier and humbler fool?  

• Does it motivate me to embrace what I call the FLUX MOJO? In other words, does it fuel me to overthrow my fixations, cooperate enthusiastically with the never-ending change that life asks me to deal with, and continually reinvent my attitudes, perspectives, ideas, and feelings?  

• Does it engender in me a lust for life and a primal urge to respond creatively to the glorious privilege of being alive and conscious?  

• Does it fuel my longing to inspire and nurture and play with those who are interested in sharing destiny with me? 

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THE PERFECT SOMETIMES UNDERMINES THE GOOD

Now and then, I quote or discuss a person who is less than a perfect exemplar of my noble ideals. 

Some readers rage at me for doing so. Don’t I know, they scold, that so-and-so is a jerk? 

I usually do know. And I certainly don’t approve of the quoted or discussed person being a creep. I wish they weren’t. I’m mad at them for the dreadful things they have done.  

On the other hand, if I refused to learn from people unless I agreed with and liked everything they had ever said and done, I would never learn from anyone. 

If I condemned to oblivion everyone who didn’t reflect all my noble ideals, if I crossed everyone off my list unless they were immaculate angels, I would be bereft of influences except for Mickey, my beloved stuffed bunny from childhood. He is irreproachable. 

My general philosophy is that everyone on the planet, including me, is a jerk at least some of the time. In fact, I’m suspicious of people who are apparently so flawlessly well-behaved that they are never jerks.  

Here’s the key to making a deeper assessment: How sizable is each person’s Jerk Quotient? If it’s below 15 percent—maybe even below 20 percent—I’ll probably give them a chance to be influences in my life—especially if they’re smart and interesting and wild and kind a majority of the time.  

I’m not sure there’s anyone in public life whose influence hasn’t been at least somewhat harmful, even if they have mostly bestowed blessings. A person’s noble intentions don’t guarantee the intentions are interpreted and used with love and intelligence. Even the Buddha’s followers commit crimes against humanity, as we see in Myanmar and Sri Lanka. 

What about you? I invite you to cultivate a capacity to derive insight from people who are not untainted saints. Have fun learning from 15-percent jerks or imperfect thinkers you partially disagree with. 

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Available here: https://bit.ly/IsAstrologyReal

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MAESTRO OF THE OBVIOUS

I am a Maestro of the Obvious. I'm a simpleton who states truths that are hard to see because they are so easy to see. Here's one: Many institutions in our culture do bad and self-serving things.

The institutions that do bad and self-serving things are corporations, religions, governments, the media, big science, medicine, the pharmaceuticals, academia, publishing, the film and art and music industries, the big tech companies, professional sports, and every other system I neglected to name. All of them.

Here's what we maestros of the obvious do: Toward all the bad and self-serving institutions, we develop a discerning skepticism, based on accurate evidence. We criticize them. We do what we can to reform them. And we acknowledge that they may also do some good and helpful things that we are grateful for.

So we go forward, holding in our minds a poised understanding of their contradictions, as intelligent fools do. We cultivate an awareness that everything on earth is flawed and imperfect, and that many imperfect and flawed things (though not all) also have value and beneficence.

We meditate on the psychological concept of co-emergence, which postulates that every beautiful, useful thing is intertwined with some challenging problem; and that many challenging problems have some inspiration and education to offer us.

We meditate on what my daughter said when she was five years old: "There's nothing in the world that is either all good or all bad."

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Anne Lamott said it in her book Bird by Bird

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THANK YOU!

Last week in this space, I wondered aloud why I had recently lost 50 paid subscribers. Had I done something to offend those readers? I invited you to tell me your theories about what was going on.

The general consensus among the many of you who so kindly responded was that it had to do with economic worries and the approaching expensive holiday season. That sounds right.

The fun surprise was that since then, 45 new paid subscribers have signed up. Yay! Thank you!

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Free Will Astrology

For the Week of December 14

© Copyright 2023  Rob Brezsny

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Egyptian Pharaoh Tutankhamun died over 3,300 years ago. When his mournful entourage placed him in his tomb, the treasures they left included a pot of honey, which was meant to sweeten his travels in the afterlife. In the early 20th century, archaeologists excavated the ancient site. They dared to sample the honey, finding it as tasty and fresh as if it had just been made. Amazingly, this same longevity is a characteristic of most honey. I propose we use this as a metaphor for your life. What old resources or experiences from your past might be as pure and nurturing as they were originally? And now could they be of value now?

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Screenwriter John Patrick Shanley writes, "Life holds its miracles, good erupting from darkness chief among them." I predict a comparable miracle for you, Capricorn, though I suspect it will arise out of confusion or inertia rather than darkness. My advice: Don't be so bogged down in the muddle that you miss the signs that a great awakening is nigh. Start rehearsing how you will feel when deliverance arrives.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Before he reached the height of fame as a novelist, Aquarian Charles Dickens experienced financial instability. When he was 31, the situation got desperate, and he resolved to take extreme measures. For six weeks, beginning in October 1843, he obsessively worked on writing the story A Christmas Carol. It was published on December 19 and sold out in a few days. Within a year, 13 editions were released. Dicken's economic worries were over. Dear Aquarius, I think the near future will be a favorable time for you, too, to take dramatic, focused action to fix a problem you're having.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Many religious people believe God can hear their prayers and intervene in worldly affairs. Other religious folks think God can hear their prayers but may not intervene. Then there are the non-religious folks who don’t believe in God and think praying is useless. Wherever you might be on the spectrum, Pisces, I’m pleased to reveal that you will have extra access to support and benefaction in the coming weeks—whether that’s from God, fate, nature, or other humans. So seek out blessings and assistance with alacrity. Be receptive to all potential helpers, even unlikely ones.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): In 1849, Harriet Tubman escaped from enslavement on a plantation in Maryland. She could have enjoyed her new freedom in peace, but instead resolved to liberate others. During 13 bold forays into enemy territory, she rescued 70 enslaved people and ushered them to safety. She testified that she relied on her dreams and visions to help her carry out her heroic acts. They revealed to her the best escape routes to take, the best times to proceed, and information about how to avoid the fiendish “slave catchers.” In alignment with astrological omens, I invite you to be like Tubman and seek practical guidance from your dreams in the coming weeks—to solve problems or seek bliss.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Jack Nicholson has often played mavericks and anti-heroes in his movies. His life away from the silver screen has also been less than steady and predictable. For example, he has fathered six children with five different women. His fellow actor, Carrie Fisher, said Jack was "fun because he doesn’t make sense." A person with casual knowledge of astrology might be surprised that Nicholson is a Taurus. Your tribe isn't typically renowned for high eccentricity. But in his natal chart, Nicholson has the brash planet Uranus near his sun in Taurus, indicating he's quirky. Aside from that, I have known plenty of Tauruses whose commitment to being uniquely themselves makes them idiosyncratic. These themes will be in play for you during the coming weeks. (PS: Taurus musician David Byrne starred in the concert film, Stop Making Sense.)

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GEMINI (May 21-June 20): The platitude says that if life gives us lemons, we should make lemonade. I’ve got a variation on this theme. Consider the Neva River in northwestern Russia. It freezes every winter. During the frigid months of 1739-1740, Empress Anna Ioannovna ordered her workers to cut huge blocks of ice and use them to construct a magnificent palace on the riverbank. She filled the place with furniture and art, making it a hub of festivities celebrating Russia’s triumph over the Ottoman Empire. I bring these themes to your attention, Gemini, because I suspect that in the coming weeks, you will have substantial redemptive power. Whether you make lemonade from lemons or a palace from a frozen river is up to you.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): “If the world were merely seductive, that would be easy,” wrote Cancerian author E. B. White. “If it were merely challenging, that would be no problem. But I arise in the morning torn between a desire to improve the world and a desire to enjoy the world. This makes it hard to plan the day.” According to my astrological analysis, your fate in recent weeks has been more challenging than seductive. You've been pressed to work on dilemmas and make adjustments more than you might like. But this rhythm is about to change. Up ahead, life is seductive, welcoming, and appealing. Are you prepared to drop any unconscious attachment you have to your interesting discomfort so you can smoothly make the transition to more ease?

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): I want to prepare you for the delights of the coming days. I want to make sure you are fully alert for them and primed to appreciate them. So I give you the thoughts of Leo psychologist Carl Jung. "It is important to have a secret, a premonition of things unknown," he said. "We must sense that we live in a mysterious world—that things happen and can be experienced that remain inexplicable; that not everything can be anticipated; that the unexpected and incredible belong in this world. Only then is life whole."

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Have you taken a refreshing break lately? Maybe even a soothing sabbatical? Have you treated yourself to a respite from the gritty grind? If not, please do so soon. And while you are recharging your psychic batteries, I ask you to give your fantasy life ample room to wander wildly and freely. In my astrological opinion, your imagination needs to be fed and fed with gourmet food for thought. For the sake of your soul’s health, I hope you dream up fantastic, unruly, even outrageous possibilities.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): My Uncle Ned advised me, “The best gift you can compel your ego to accept is to make it your servant instead of your master.” An early Buddhist teacher sounded a related theme when she told me, “The best things in life are most likely to come your way if you periodically shed all hope and practice being completely empty.” The girlfriend I had when I was 23 confided, “You may get more enjoyment from the witty ways I confound you if you don’t try to understand them.” I offer these three ideas to you, Libra, because you’re in a phase when the moral of your story is that there is no apparent moral to your story—at least until you surrender your notions of what the moral of your story is.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): I believe you Scorpios are the zodiac sign mostly likely to benefit from being empathetic. By that I mean you have substantial power to thrive by reading other people’s moods and feelings. You are often able to figure out angles that enable you to gather what you want while helping others to gather what they want. You are potentially a genius at doing what’s best for everyone and getting paid and rewarded for it. According to my analysis of the astrological omens, this knack of yours will soon be operating at peak levels.

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