No. 35 - On the Art of Letting Good Be Good Enough

I hope you enjoyed your extra hour of sleep this weekend (or relaxation or play time with the kids who don't yet understand the concept of sleeping in!). Last week, I gave myself a little grace, amidst everything going on, to focus on the essentials for the weekend. That meant spending 10 hours on Saturday and Sunday painting the new shop. Yes, you read that correctly—Island Elixir Tea Company is moving into a physical shop this week! As some of you know, having a physical space has been on my dream list for many years, with active searching over the last year. Finally, I found an opportunity and seized it. We’ll be open from Wednesday, November 6th, and I hope you’ll come visit if you’re in the neighbourhood. Located at Langford Station, my neighbours are all local small businesses and makers of beautiful goods—yarn, vinyl, fashion, candles, baskets, children’s items, soap, and more! Can’t wait for you to drop in for a cuppa. Meanwhile, this week’s newsletter is a quick one because my kettle is on full boil.

Perfect is the enemy of the good

"Perfect is the enemy of the good," a phrase that has evolved countless times since Voltaire’s 1772 Conte Morale, La Bégueule:

Dans ses écrits un sage Italien
Dit que le mieux est l’ennemi du bien;
Non qu’on ne puisse augmenter en prudence,
En bonté d’âme, en talents, en science;
Cherchons le mieux sur ces chapitres-là;
Partout ailleurs évitons la chimère.
Dans son état heureux qui peut se plaire,
Vivre à sa place, et garder ce qu’il a!

In his writings a wise Italian
Says that the best is the enemy of the good;
Not that one cannot increase in prudence,
In goodness of soul, in talents, in science;
Let us seek the best in these chapters;
Everywhere else let us avoid the chimera.
In his happy state who can please himself,
Live in his place, and keep what he has!

Striving for perfection

Who among us does not suffer, at least from time to time, from striving for the best to the detriment of the good? As a recovering, or sometimes not-so-recovering, perfectionist, I have much first-hand experience in pushing for perfection. I like to think that, as my birth year grows more distant, I gain more wisdom and perspective on what, for me, falls into soul, talents, prudence, and science. Nevertheless, I am often—and perhaps too easily—dragged down the rabbit hole of perfection. Alongside it comes procrastination—not out of laziness or apathy, but because the "better" result is not yet available or understood. This works well for those higher pursuits M. Voltaire mentions, but not so much for more mundane tasks, like sandwich boards (speaking “for a friend”). When we find ourselves, the night before the due date, show, or event, working into the wee hours, we finish what we started, but the result? Probably good, not perfect, but perfectly good. And that is enough.

Giving grace, or the pursuit of better

Where "best" is useful and even necessary—like in tea blends, perhaps?—those extra hours can result in beautiful creations. This is where the efforts belong. And if the due date comes and it’s not ready, maybe good enough means not putting that item into the world at all and choosing something else instead. Give yourself the grace and the gift, when it really matters, to pursue better. We will all be thankful to simply get the IOU.

One more thing...

"A diamond with a flaw is better than a common stone that is perfect."
— Chinese Proverb

Until next time,
Steep Calm.
Bree