“Someday, sometime, you will be sitting somewhere. A berm overlooking a pond in Vermont. The lip of the Grand Canyon at sunset. A seat on the subway. And something bad will have happened: You will have lost someone you loved, or failed at something at which you badly wanted to succeed. And sitting there, you will fall into the center of yourself. You will look for some core to sustain you. And if you have been perfect all your life and have managed to meet all the expectations of your family, your friends, your community, your society, chances are excellent that there will be a black hole where that core ought to be. I don’t want anyone I know to take that terrible chance. And the only way to avoid it is to listen to that small voice inside you that tells you to make mischief, to have fun, to be contrarian, to go another way. George Eliot wrote, ‘It is never too late to be what you might have been.’ It is never too early, either.”
– Anna Quindlen, Being Perfect
Source: Thank you WhiskeyRiver from Anna Quindlen’s book: Being Perfect
Thank you. Exactly what I needed to hear today.
My pleasure, thanks.
Not sure about the first but I agree with the other half, “It’s never to early, either…”
Agree on either end, you win…
Whoa.
Words do play BIG.
My mother often used to ask me, “why are you so contrarian?”. Honestly, I always thought it was a word she made up! 🙂
Laughing.
i so agree.
Perfection is boring…..Thanks, Dave!
It is!
I agree with the first part. There is something about past adversity that can make current challenges feel more manageable. Having that down time in nature can allow the thoughts to stop and see that perspective.
I so agree…thank you.
Perfection is a big judgment, like it is the perfect way to live.
Perfection contains no happiness either.
Our flaws, vulnerabilities make us who we are.
Love the freedom message in this quote.
Me too Marty. And I agree. We are, flaws and all.
I love this! Great find, David.
Me too Trisha. Thank you.
Brilliant!
It is Anthony.
Reblogged this on Writing Out Loud and commented:
Not preachy, makes good even better.
Thanks for sharing Robert. It is good, very good.
Spot-on.
It is Helen. Magic words for me.
This makes me happy. Thanks for sharing.
Me too Jolyn. Thank you.
Thank you, immensely, for this post.
Loved it too Lisanne. Thank yoiu.