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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How Do I Stop Being a Perfectionist?

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“How do I stop being a perfectionist? How do you move away from perfectionism?”

These are the questions you ask, and on one level the answers are simple.

We shift out of perfectionism through daily, real-world action, rewriting our old patterns of behavior and belief.

But you’re not just asking for the how-to. You’re asking for the hope. You’re asking, “Is it really possible for us to change?”

Let me tell you a story.

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Do More of What Feels Like Magic

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There’s nothing kids love quite like feeling “grown up.” Give them some responsibility, and they’re hooked.

At least, that’s how I felt when I worked in my dad’s home office. My dad has his own business, and when he had invoices to mail, he let me help him prepare the envelopes.

This was thrilling to me. As a small child, I loved pressing the return-address stamp onto the black ink pad. I loved the stamp’s disappearing act, the swivel that made the raised letters come and go.

One moment, there were no words in the upper left hand corner of the envelope, and then next, there were several lines of text. Amazing!

Sure, I enjoyed pressing the stamps too, but I didn’t begrudge my younger brother Willie taking on that task instead. For me, the magic was always in the words.

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You Have Got To Reach

Once upon a time, I spoke to a woman who said, “I don’t feel adequate enough to talk to you.”

How’s that for an opening?

This woman had reasons to feel less-than, stuck, and scared. To protect her privacy, I won’t share those reasons here. It suffices to say that she had a tough history.

She dreamed of helping other people,
but struggled to help herself.

When I encouraged her to get support for her journey, she made an effort and asked for help once. But when she didn’t hear back, she stopped asking.

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