In These Times Good Enough Is Absolutely Good Enough

“At the end of the day, remind yourself that you did the best you could today, and that is good enough.” 

--Lori Deschene, author, “Tiny Buddha”

Some days in the midst of these crazy days, good enough is just that: good enough.

So, the dishes don’t always get rinsed and put in the dishwasher right away and sometimes these accumulate in my sink. And I’m trying to make my bed every morning but now it may take me a bit longer to get to that. In the class I teach by Zoom on Sunday mornings, yesterday I had to confess I was not fully prepared, that the week before was so crazy, and I dropped some things I was supposed to get done. Tuesday I wore my baseball cap all day, because my hair is getting a bit scruffy, making me look at my worst moments like Larry, from the Three Stooges. All those plans I made to work on long neglected woodworking projects? After a long day of six online meetings in a row, all I want to really do is chill with my crossword puzzle.

And you—are you having more and more of these “good enough” days? If you are, you’re not alone. In fact, I’d say “good enough” is pretty much the norm for many of us now, not because collectively we’ve suddenly decided to become lazier or more careless or less disciplined about the large and small tasks of life. No.

We’re all just becoming more human and less perfectionist, because right now, all of us are living within and trying to deal with, the most traumatic and upsetting and dislocating historic event in our lifetimes. In one hundred years. Nothing, NOTHING, any of us could have done would have prepared us for this moment in time, individually and collectively.  And so, we are all just kind of making it up as we go along.

Figuring out how to stay sane while sharing so much more time with our families and loved ones than ever before. Personal space, sharing chores, and keeping everyone fed and cared for: that’s not easy, not at all and if you did it today, nice job.  Figuring out how to stay sane while living all alone and on lockdown, like I do now. I worry about how much I talk to myself. God, I miss being in the real, physical space of another human being, albeit from eight feet away.

Today, good enough will have to be good enough.

None of us had a class at school called “Pandemic 101”. None of us a mere month ago could have envisioned that thirty days later, we’d be spending almost all of our time behind locked and closed front doors and wearing a mask to go to the grocery store and worshipping God at our houses of worship by staring at a screen in our living rooms. None of us could have imagined such a worldwide traumatic event, because we are not supposed to think about such things. It is  too scary. Too surreal. Too overwhelming.

And yet here we are. Almost a month into this weird new world, with at least one more month, probably even longer, ahead of us, living under these conditions.

So, if you find yourself suddenly breaking into tears, lean into it and have a good cry. You need this release, we all do. It is sad and hard right now. If, like me, you find yourself snapping at others when you are normally not like that, or being more impatient, or going all quiet while others talk away, just give yourself a break. We all are finding ways to cope and vent and deal, and we are at our most human and real and so that means we are not perfect, not even close, certainly not now.  I know I’m about as far from perfect as one can get.

Thus, I need to remember that good enough is good enough.

Thank goodness I have my faith to remind of this truth too. Have a belief in a higher power who loves me, not because I am perfect or flawless or some moral paragon, but in fact because I am not those things. I am so imperfect. I am broken. I make mistakes, large and small.  But no matter what, NO MATTER WHAT, I am still loved. Always. I pray that you feel that as well, whatever your faith, whatever your perceived place in this world. We all need to know our inherent worth, now more than ever and embrace that rock solid truth every single day.

Because finally, good enough is absolutely good enough.

So, here’s my advice. Go ahead and go into this day and then just be okay if you need too. Middling. Sufficient. Raw. Authentic. Human. And when you come in contact with another fellow child of God, remember that they too, they are also just trying to get through these strange days. We all are. 

You are good enough and that’s good enough.

And if you see me on a Zoom call and notice that my hair is all sticking up, please gently me ask me where my Red Sox cap went.  Thanks, and stay safe and be well and God bless.