"Everyone learns something different at Le Cordon Bleu, and maybe this is my lesson: Sometimes, I can't be the best. Like today. My sauce was fine. It wasn't the greatest sauce the judges saw, but it was what I could do today. I have to be happy with that." ~Kathleen Flinn, The Sharper Your Knife, The Less You Cry

I think I mentioned earlier that I was reading this memoir of Kathleen Flinn who left her corporate job(unwillingly through downsizing) and decided to pursue a life long dream of attending Le Cordon Bleu cooking school in Paris. As I have been finishing up the reading I have been touched by the life lessons the students articulate. Only some of those lessons pertain to cooking.

The quote above comes from one of Kathleen's classmates, a woman who clearly always wanted to do things perfectly. She arrived at class early, always sat in the middle of the room where the chef of the day could be in direct eyesight, prepared and over prepared, even purchased the finest cooking magazines and carried them so the chefs would see what a great student she was. I hate to admit that this behavior is not unfamiliar to me.

Life lessons come to us, I believe, when we need them. They can come up behind us and catch us by surprise. If we think back, we often realize that what we learned is what we had been searching for all along.. I think of the life lessons I've learned while watching my sons play sports…..so many having nothing to do with the game, things like knowing what you are capable of and what you aren't, how to win and how to lose.  Singing in a choir or with others is always an opportunity to learn so much more than music…..listening, blending, the power of a rest, to name a few. Working with others on projects can bring lessons in humility and compassion in addition to knowing just the right moment to share your creativity and when to wait.

Over the years I have had the opportunity to learn the life lesson the woman in Flinn's book did:  whatever I am doing is 'good enough'. For many people, it is not an easy one.Understanding what we 'can do today' and being satisfied with it can be a difficult lesson. But when we can embrace it, life seems much easier, less stressful, more hopeful.

Whatever you are doing today, I invite you to cut yourself some slack. If you are doing the best you can, be happy with it. It may not be perfect but it is most probably good enough.

And tomorrow, if all works out as we hope, we will get another chance.