Get Past Perfect and Rise Up Real.

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Did you know that certain Native American artisans weave small, purposeful mistakes into their blankets?

These master craftspeople include intentional slip-ups in their best work. But why?

Because they believe that the “mistake” is the very space that allows Spirit to move in and out of the fabric.

Take a moment and let that sink in. Then ask yourself …

What if the mistakes you wish you hadn’t made could be openings for Spirit in your life?

If that question freaks you out a little, I understand.

I’m Caroline Garnet McGraw, and I’m a recovering perfectionist. (And workaholic and codependent and people-pleaser. You know, just the usual.)

I’ve spent most of my life in abject terror of making mistakes. But in 2011, I started this blog as an account of the journey to get past perfect and rise up real.

A Wish Come Clear is about the lifelong odyssey that we take to come home to ourselves and each other.

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For You, When You’re Facing Internal Conflict

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Have you ever felt yourself deadlocked in internal conflict, bouncing back and forth between the comfort of staying put and the lure of letting go?

Ever struggled to choose because part of you wanted something new, while another part of you needed to keep everything the same?

I have. Once upon a time, I worked as a nonprofit program director in DC. It was a stable, undeniably meaningful job, one that connected me to a caring community and supported my deepest values.

Those things were true, but there were other truths, too.

There were the tears that prickled behind my eyes on my morning commute. There was the relentless thrum of exhaustion, the drumbeat of my jam-packed days.

And there was the whisper of my true self, the one who wanted so badly to be a writer.

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The Healing Power of Animals: You Need to Read with Julie Barton (Plus a Dog Medicine Book Giveaway!)

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If you love your pets and believe in the healing power of animals … if you were a child who treated your stuffed animals as sentient beings … then you won’t want to miss this interview with Julie Barton, author of Dog Medicine: How My Dog Saved Me from Myself.

When I read the last chapter of Dog Medicine, my husband found me curled up on the couch sobbing. He tried to take it away from me, but I said, “No, no, it’s good crying!”

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For the Ones Who Hide Away When They’re Struggling

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“Hi friend, how are you doing today? Thinking of you and sending love your way.”

I press send on the text, then click my phone screen off. I know better than to expect an immediate response from friends who hide away when they’re struggling.

My friend deals with depression and anxiety, and I know that this is a challenging time for her. I also know that when things get tough she tends to go dark.

Still I send the message and the love anyway. I pray that it can help her to defy the voices that tell her that she’s a bad friend, that she’s just bringing everybody down, that nobody cares.

Sure, sometimes her virtual disappearances get frustrating, but I know that that’s because I do the same.

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