Maybe it’s movies that deceive us into thinking that perfection actually exists. Or extremely well written menus, Victoria’s Secret commercials and flashy hotel brochures. Suffice to say that while we know intellectually that perfection is a mythical creature like the unicorn, it doesn’t stop us from clinging to the dream.
Hey, stuff happens. Lately it’s been my turn. The Plan: Six nights on Jekyll Island, Georgia for a writing retreat (this very week, actually; this is written in real time). Edit a client’s book and revise one of mine. It’s now Wednesday. I’m not quite halfway through my client project and haven’t even thought about my book! Actually, I’ve thought about it. Yet how can I complain? I’m somewhere special getting to do something special, after all.
My second day of driving I encountered severe snowstorms in the mountains of Tennessee (a first). But I toughed it out and stopped for the night, figuring that the route I had planned would lead to better weather. Guess again. It seems that I-40 (Knoxville to Asheville) is closed indefinitely due to a rock slide. An alternate route, 441 was closed due to ice and snow. Not exactly perfect planning or a perfect outcome, but it was a bit exciting.
For my morning drive I only had to backtrack about 40 miles back to I-75. It was sunny and cold and all of the trees looked as if they had been dipped in crystal; it was breathtaking! I arrived on Jekyll late Sunday night, getting a room I didn’t like. I now have a better one but instead of dunes and palm trees and ocean most of what I see is the pool. Not a perfect view.
It’s cold on the Georgia coast this week and it rained all day yesterday. I’ve never seen it rain here before; I didn’t know it could, but I got to stay indoors and do what I came to do. And did I mention that I caught Rob’s cold the day before I left?
I won’t get everything accomplished that I had hoped. And I’ve discovered that when you stay at a place with lots of older people, their TVs are really loud. A perfect trip? No way. But it has the feel of an almost perfect adventure. Achoo!
Simple Action: When things don’t quite reach perfection, transform that which goes awry into adventure. It builds your character and makes a great story once you embellish it. I’m still working on the latter.
I think that perfection, in all honesty, is boring. I mean, if we achieved it, what would happen to our dreams? There would be nothing to strive for. Most of our greatest adventures come from things NOT going as planned, veering off the road we planned to travel. Someone once said that we often meet our destiny on the road we took to avoid it. I have found that to be true. And so, Leslie, here’s to your imperfect trip
Thank you, Linda – what a great response. Last night at 3:30 AM, there appeared an intermittent “beep” that kept me up for a while and I just had to laugh. No idea what it is or where it came from but I have earplugs on my end table if the sound comes back tonight. Yes, imperfect experiences make for great discoveries and even better stories. Thanks again!
Lester, many words could be used to describe you, but boring is not one of them! Have fun!