{"id":6837,"date":"2025-07-02T14:38:00","date_gmt":"2025-07-02T21:38:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/writtenbymurphy.com\/wonderblog\/?p=6837"},"modified":"2025-12-29T10:59:40","modified_gmt":"2025-12-29T17:59:40","slug":"not-practicing-perfect","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/writtenbymurphy.com\/wonderblog\/2025\/07\/not-practicing-perfect\/","title":{"rendered":"Not Practicing Perfect"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I look in the mirror every day, but I am not at all sure what I look like in the world. Yes, I have taken phone photos of the back of my head to see what my hair looks like. But still, I\u2019m not sure if I am presenting myself the way I want to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then again, what is it I\u2019m trying for? How perfect am I supposed to be when I can\u2019t even tell what I see?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I have been trying to get a view on myself, and whether or how all my medical adventures have changed me. How do I get a view on whether I am weaker or tire more easily than before? That\u2019s not something I can take a photo of.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do I contort myself to find a way to capture a view? Chasing the immaterial.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is it I\u2019m looking for? What magic will my appearance unlock?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Perfect is too narrow a target. It\u2019s not even important. Should I be trying for the perfect hair-do? Should I stretch my voice for the perfect note?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m never going to get it perfect. Showing up at all is going to get me what I want.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The right place at the right time is magic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My sensei has taught me the best way to avoid a punch:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don\u2019t be there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When my body is not in striking range, I am safe from strikes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The opposite is just as true. When a nudge or a push is needed the time is now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Showing up is better than being perfect. Raising my hand when my name. Sitting at the table. Answering the question when it is asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And singing the songs. I know I am not as good a singer or musician as I wish I were. But the best way to sing a song is to sing it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pushing it into reality. Both performance and practice. I don\u2019t have to contort myself to make a perfect shape. I\u2019m not going to let this day fall without making a sound<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I look in the mirror every day, but I am not at all sure what I look like in the world. Yes, I have taken phone photos of the back of my head to see what my hair looks like. … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6837","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-random-thoughts"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/writtenbymurphy.com\/wonderblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6837","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/writtenbymurphy.com\/wonderblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/writtenbymurphy.com\/wonderblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/writtenbymurphy.com\/wonderblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/writtenbymurphy.com\/wonderblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6837"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/writtenbymurphy.com\/wonderblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6837\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6840,"href":"http:\/\/writtenbymurphy.com\/wonderblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6837\/revisions\/6840"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/writtenbymurphy.com\/wonderblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6837"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/writtenbymurphy.com\/wonderblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6837"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/writtenbymurphy.com\/wonderblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6837"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}