The "Pursuit of Excellence" to me is one of the most sacred ways to pray.

I am not religious, but I do feel deeply spiritual and what I have come to realise is that there are many ways to offer praise and gratitude for this life. One very precious way to offer praise is to "Pursue Excellence" in your chosen field, to honour your gifts and to dedicate yourself to set the intention to always be learning and growing in your performance of those gifts. 

The Pursuit of Excellence is a phrase that came to me the other day and it really resonated with me. As a creative there is a constant pressure and comparison to others. It takes a lot of discipline and focus to remain consistently on your own path and not be influenced by the path of others. Sure, a healthy dose of inspiration from each other is great but at the end of the day what you have to offer is utterly unique to you! No one can do what you do and offer what you offer!

I have always been in awe of the Japanese focus on perfection in all that they do, but the word "perfectionism" also carries a negative energy around striving for the impossible and for me carries a feeling of anxiety and failure even before I have begun. However, the phrase "Pursuit of Excellence" is so much more beautiful and feels clearer to me. It feels achievable, it feels sacred, and it feels peaceful and Zen, and it has the sense of no Final Destination to mark the fact you have been successful. But rather success comes in the everyday "doing" and "pursuing of excellence". Maybe this is what the Japanese really mean by "Kaizen" one of the principles of Wabi Sabi. Maybe what they really mean by the word Kaizen is not the pursuit of perfectionism, but rather the pursuit of excellence.

So, today I urge you to look at what really matters to you, and to think about how you can continue to grow and expand to pursue YOUR excellence in what you are doing. It could be Motherhood, it could be cooking, cleaning, your work whatever that may be, or it could be your garden. Chose 1-2 things in your life that REALLY matter to you and make a decision that you will promise to pursue Excellence in your performance of that task. And I promise you, by doing that you will bring more grace, beauty and peace into your life.