Instructions for living a life.
Pay attention.
Be astonished.
Tell about it.

Mary Oliver

My daughter is struggling in math, and she sometimes thinks I’m the worst mother in the world.  So, I’ve hired her a tutor, and I tell her often how much I love her. My husband often walks in the door and hugs the dogs (not me).  So, I walk over and give him a hug and ask him about his day. I don’t have a formal business plan.  And, I’m okay with that. I get sick.  And, I give my body what it needs.

I have an ex who sees the world very differently than me, and I focus on our common ground of the tremendous love we both share for our daughter.

I sit down to write and nothing.  Nada.  Zilch.   So, I go for a walk, and I come back inspired to write.

I have a huge zit on my chin.  So, I put on concealer and rock it!

I’ve moved to a new place where I’ve yet to meet many friends.  So, I call up my girlfriends and we laugh for hours.

I have bills.  So, I pay them feeling gratitude that I have the opportunity.

I would love to be in the South of France right now.  So, I bring France to me – listening to George Brassens and cooking crepes.

I have five extra pounds that found their way to my hips during the past two months.  So, I make a few minor adjustments and don’t think much about it.  This is the life of a woman.

I’m getting wrinkles and grey hair.  So, I celebrate my age, while also getting my roots done…often.

For the first time in over a decade, I don’t own a home.  We’re renting, and I love the feeling of freedom.

I am scared daily by things I want to do and create.  So, I do them.

I have my days where I just want to cry and watch Lifetime movies.  So, I cry and watch a Lifetime movie.

During an interview this week, I was asked if my life was as perfect as it seems.  The truth is that my answer is yes and no.  It’s certainly not every day trips to Paris, watching the sunset over the lavender fields of Provence or night after night of ecstatic sex.  Just like most women, I work, shuttle kids, pay bills and clean my house.  Nothing special.

Yet, it is so special, which is why I honor it.  I dress up on most days because I want to offer the world my best.  I eat delicious foods because I want to honor my body.  I set the dinner table beautifully with candles and fresh flowers, because everyday is a celebration in my world.  I wear perfume to bed, because nights want to be honored with scent as much as the day. And, I play often in my life and business, because the world is this big, beautiful playground full of opportunities, people and resources, but you’ll never experience life on this level if you’re fighting with the present moment, declaring it “imperfect!”

The way to create “a perfect life” is to see how perfect your life is right now.

I strive to see almost everything as absolutely thrilling, awe-inspiring, and yes – PERFECT, from the deer that passes my window each morning to my visits to Wal-Mart.  (Please note that I said “almost everything.”  I don’t claim to be enlightened or sitting in some state of Nirvana.  In fact, just this morning, I became livid when my daughter spread foundation on the interior of my new car, but when I stopped my rant and really thought about it, I realized how blessed I am to have a car and a daughter who thinks it’s her makeup studio).

And, in those moments when life doesn’t feel perfect, it’s not my job to work hard to change my external reality, but to find the beauty and lessons in that moment.  The external changes as a result.

Perhaps that’s why my life has changed so much in the past ten years and why many people think my life is perfect, because I constantly strive to see it that way.  I want to sit in the core of my life looking around  and say, “Wow, this is pretty awesome!

That’s French Kissing Life!

So, tell me how your life is perfect right now in the comments below.

(P.S.  I am also the most imperfect person you’ll ever meet.  I like to call it:  perfectly imperfect!)

The Self-Image Manifesto

You’re Invited To Live An Extraordinary Life!

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