The art of trying to be perfect

“Imperfection inspires invention, imagination, creativity. It stimulates. The more I feel imperfect, the more I feel alive.”
― Jhumpa Lahiri

We look to be perfect in everything we do but only because we take a measuring stick and compare it with others.

The moment you stop comparing, you will see how you can take your imperfect moments and turn them into a moment of reflection, correction and redirection.

I call myself a creative imperfect clothes designer. When I get in front of my machine my imagination will just go wild. The moment that I get stuck trying to create I decide to open up YouTube to find a video that will give me the boost I need to get me back on track.

I like to do things quickly so I will find the quickest video that can give me some ideas because if it is over 7 to 10 minutes they will lose me. After studying this video over and over again I turn it off and tell myself you got this. After spending 4 hours some times trying to create what they did in 10 minutes give or take some time because they fast forward the video I look at the end results and get frustrated.

“The eye always fills in the imperfections.”
― Rabih Alameddine

I know I am not alone when I say what the heck did I just do as I beat myself up with words because I just created the perfect MESS! However, after I reflect, correct and redirect my whole purpose of why I started I tell myself stop comparing and be an original. We have to have an example to follow but never use the example as the measuring tool of perfection.

My best work comes after my imperfect moments. The art of being perfect is to stop trying to be something you will never be.  Accept the imperfections and grow from them.

 

Ms Angie

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Invaluable?!

“How good something is should never be determined by its cost, designer, origin, or its perceived value by others.”
― Ashly Lorenzana

Reaching to find the value of herself in the jungle of her thoughts she lost her footing and slowly began to succumb to the words of others.

 

You’re not good enough

You’re not pretty enough

Change your hair

Don’t wear that

You’re too dark

You’re too thin

You’re not smart enough

Why do you talk like that

You’re hair is ugly

The words were too much so she decided life was not worth living. She heard the voices tell her to just end it all because no one would care but some one took the time to show her she was valuable!

It was not measured with how she looked! It was not measured by how she spoke! It was not measured by what she wore!

There was not a tool that could measure her value because GIRL you’re invaluable!

 

 

Ms Angie

As she poured from her cup…..

“There is no envy, jealousy, or hatred between the different colors of the rainbow. And no fear either. Because each one exists to make the others’ love more beautiful.”
― Aberjhani,

She never came empty handed her cup was always pouring…….

She knew she was creating a rainbow of colors all from different mixtures of life…..

She knew her rainbow would not just have the traditional colors so she was equipped to take a little of this and mix with a little of that to come up with the perfect colors…..

As she poured from her cup…..

She realized that some colors would be harder to blend and she didn’t want them to stand out so she added some softness of her tint and hue to it……

She took the petri dish and gently mixed the colors together so that one color would not outshine the other….

She added a dab of this and a dab of that because her goal was a beautifully blended rainbow that would reflect agape in the purest form

As she poured from her cup……

She knew in order for the rainbow to do what it was intended to do she had to let each color know you were chosen with a purpose and goal in mind

She knew that the beauty of the rainbow was better reflected when each color took its rightful place

“We needed something to express our joy, our beauty, our power. And the rainbow did that.”

Gilbert Baker

 

Dedicated to Pastor Robyn Langston

Angela Lambert

She said…They said…

She said go the extra mile

They said set boundaries

She said never look them in the face

They said the eyes are the windows to the soul

She said you just have to learn to live

They said you must give to live

She said never trust people their actions speaks for them

They said put your trust in God and he will never fail you

She said life is too short to waste on people

They said life is about what you do for others

She said it’s okay to be selfish because people are to you

They said be more selfless and watch what comes back to you

The moral of it all is we all have that “she” in our lives but in order to make it in the world and really enjoy life and people take the advice from “they” because they are living what they say!!!

Black Journey

“The beautiful journey of today can only begin when we learn to let go of yesterday.”
― Steve Maraboli

I recently got a new vehicle and it is a black journey. I didn’t realize the significance of the vehicle until yesterday. My life has been a black journey up until this point because I would not let go of the past!  I was fearful out what was ahead so I clung to the known because it was safer.

 

I know the road ahead of me is so promising but fear strangles the life out of you and all your energy is spent trying to figure out how to keep going.

When I walked into the dealership I knew what I wanted and had everything picked out in my mind but something about this black journey just pulled me in. I didn’t want to test drive it because I knew it was just what I needed to get me to my next destination in life. The one thing that was holding me back was now getting ready to launch me into the journey of a life time. It gave me my freedom back!!!

 

The Load You Carry

“I took it off.
I did not want to carry it with me anymore.”
― Ava, You Are Safe Here.

 

She always looked like she was in so much pain and agony. They judged her by the weight she was carrying on the outside but those who really knew her knew it came from the crown she wore on her head. Often the crown we carry on the outside can never compare to the crown that we carry on the inside……….

CROWN:

of disbelief

of grief

of doubt

of misunderstandings

of worry

of fear

of failure

of hurt

of pain

of confusion

of a broken heart

THEN:

She realized that the way she was carrying the crown was too much. It was weighing her down…….

 

So she took it off!

Angela L.

image by: https://goo.gl/images/AFuQQd

 

 

Desperation

“That if desperate times call for desperate measures, then I’m free to act as desperately as I wish.”
― Suzanne Collins, Catching Fire

 The situation is like this: freedom of choice!

Buy a car or steal a car

Get an education or drop out

Argue or walk away

Study or fail

Follow or lead

Respect or disrespect

Honor or disobey

Do or doubt

Love or hate

Kill or heal

Give or take

 

I can go on and on with the comparisons of choices but desperation causes people to make rash decisions.  You never know what another person is faced with until you are put in their position. It’s easy for us to say what we would not do but you just don’t know.

The seemingly mountains that are before you will cause you to question your decision making patterns in life. Do I have a choice? Desperate measures leads to desperate actions:

The mother who can’t feed her child and the kid is looking her in the face. The dad who could not pay his rent because he was laid off from work. The child who has test sitting in front of them knowing if they don’t pass the test it would keep them from passing the course. The young man who is trying to fit in with the crowd because he always felt alone. The young lady who is being pressure into having sex but she don’t want to lose the only person she feels that has ever loved her. The kid that is sexually confused but afraid to vocalize it so they experiment with their thoughts.

 

Desperation draws you into territory you have never traveled before…

 

Desperation will cause you to make a permanent decision based on a temporary situation….

Desperation will cause you to forget your integrity….

Desperation will cause you to pull a trigger…

Desperation will cause you to turn a trick, cheat on a test, join a gang, steal, kill, lie…….

WE are free to act as desperately as we wish however in the end the CONSEQUENCES belongs to us!!!!

Today’s Journey

“It’s the journey, not the destination, but that doesn’t make sense until you get there.”
― J.R. Rim

I was looking for a deal and a quick return on investment but that is not what I got. As I got into the car full of people we were all heading to the same place. As we arrived we all got out to look around to get what we came for. One of the people with me got put out of the establishment as soon as we got there because of their attitude and tongue but I just shrugged it off and kept going as they walked away. I was determined to find what I came for. I still had a few people with me but as the journey progressed on the circle got smaller and smaller.

As I was travelling along the path I ran into so many things that looked good until I got up close to them. That is when I realized that things are not what they always seem to be. As I begin to try to find my way back to where I started I saw so much stuff I should have never seen. I put myself into places that I had no business being in that I had to duck, dodge and crawl at times to make it back to a stable place. I got scratched, cut and my clothes were tattered because I had to maneuver through places that I didn’t belong.

Those who I had started with were no longer with me so I had to try to find my way back to the door by myself. It was dark and I was in an unfamiliar place and I sought out people for advice.  They kept leading me in the wrong direction because they didn’t know where I needed to be or better yet where I was trying to go. In the process my eyes continue to see things I had no business seeing. I went in looking for something but it is not what I thought it was. I wanted OUT!

When I finally saw a door it said that only certain people could exit through it so I had to keep moving. I saw many doors but none were accessible for me. When I got to the last path it was as if I could hear the outside but I still couldn’t see it and discouragement starting creeping in. Wearily I kept pushing trying to find my way out but I didn’t give up. I made it to another room that had a door but this room was also filled with lewd acts but I knew it wasn’t my destination so I was able to maneuver around to keep pushing. Once I left that room there was a door standing wide open for me and when I step through it was raining outside. Out of all that I have been taught I lifted my hands and received the rain as it washed off the dirt from the ordeal I had just come through….. I had finally reached my destination but I had to endure the journey first!!!

Moral:

1. You can’t do whatever else do
2. You can’t go where everyone else goes
3. If you stay the course your harvest will be waiting
4. Follow the cloud and not the crowd

Stifling creativity…….

“Clear thinking at the wrong moment can stifle creativity.”

― Karl Lagerfeld

We spend so much of our life trying to prove everything right that we never take the time to prepare to be wrong in order for us to learn from our mistake. It is our moments of not understanding why things are happening the way they are for us to come up with creative solutions to fix the problem.

The problem isn’t that we didn’t know how to fix them it is that we never took the time to think outside of the norm to allow the creativity that is hidden inside to come forth. If you look back over some of the errors that you have made throughout the course of your life you will see how creative you became when it was time to right the wrong.

Your creativity becomes stifled when you wait for someone to help you figure it out. I love to sew and my greatest creations comes from mistakes that I make. I love to see everything just perfect but some times depending on what kind of material I am working with it does not always work out like that. I have crooked lines, and diagonal cuts, button holes too large and sometimes materials that do not mesh well together. It does not make me give up it just causes me to take my oops moments and change them into creative opportunities. They do not always come immediately because my mind is still thinking about the error I made and how can I make it perfectly again.

When my judgement is no longer clear I then have an AH HA moment. The crooked lines are now changed to zig zag decorative lines. The diagonal cuts become high low skirts or dresses. The button holes that were too big are now covered with a decorative flower and a snap is put in the place of the button instead. The fabrics that initially do not look right together now become one of my greatest masterpieces. If I would have never made a mistake I would not have taken the opportunity to figure out how to do something different.

The moral of the story is sometimes it takes making an error and not being able to figure things out at the moment for you to come up with the most creative solution. There is always more than one way to get something done it just takes getting out of self in order to figure it out.

Angie L.

Wholeness…..accepting yourself

“No apologies needed. “Do you”.”
― Shannon Tanner

 

So what you don’t fit in….do you!

SO……

• Your feet are big
• Your head is small
• Your teeth are crooked
• Your nose is pointy
• Your stomach is fat
• Your legs are skinny
• You didn’t go to college
• You went to a trade school
• You don’t want to marry
• You have 6 kids
• You take the bus
• You live in the city
• You cry when you’re happy
• You laugh when you’re scared
• People call you ugly
• People turn their noses up at you
• You’re wealthy
• You make mininum wage
• You’re weird
• You laugh loud

At the end of the day remember to be UNAPOLOGETICALLY you and live your life!!!

Love me,

Angela