Living Your Best Spiritual Life is Overrated. (And That’s Perfectly OK!)

Don't you love those moments where you're totally in your zone, experiencing your perfect rendition of spiritual mastery?

You know the kind I’m talking about: someone cuts you off in traffic and you smile and send them love; that important promotion passes you by and you graciously thank the Universe for the opportunity to reinvent yourself. 

It feels juicy, delicious… and exhausting.

Let's be real: none of us are living that TikTok-perfect mindfulness aesthetic.

Instead, we're living in a busy, messy reality—sneaking into bathrooms for a moment of peace from our kids (mine are grown now - they survived), or wandering parking garages searching for cars we swear we left in section D4.

Reality is showing up to yoga to practice beside the perfectly Alo-attired yogi only to look down and realize your shirt is on inside out and you’ve dropped toothpaste all over the front of it. (#facts)

Everywhere we look, it seems that someone else has cracked the code of conscious living—from social media gurus to spiritual teachers, all radiating perfect peace and wisdom.

And that, my friends, is a slippery slope.

When we chase others' versions of enlightenment, we drown out the teacher within.

The Reality Behind Perfect Spirituality

Years ago, (pre-TikTok, if I’m honest) I tried to achieve that level of open love and acceptance for all that is. It felt great...until it didn’t, and I realized that in my pursuit of spiritual perfection, I was losing the one thing that mattered the most: my unfiltered, authentic self.

So I kept uncovering the built up layers of societal expectations. And after years of spiritual practices and studying mind-body techniques, I learned that joy lives in embracing the mess, not conquering it.

Finding Peace in Imperfection

Last week I arrived at the gym only to realize I didn't have my phone with me. No phone = no music, and somehow that manifested as walking in and out of the door multiple times, while I was trying to decide what to do. It wasn't until I noticed the person behind the counter looking at me with increasing concern that I burst out laughing and walked back to my car - only to find my phone had been there the entire time.

Yay, me!

Here's what I've learned: Zen isn't about avoiding these moments – it's about how we embrace our unfiltered selves when they happen. After those 10 minutes of Piscean-induced indecision, I had a choice: get annoyed at the wasted time, or find the humor and humanity in it all.

I chose to laugh. Loudly. 

Embracing Your Authentic Path

Next time you catch yourself in one of those perfectly imperfect moments and you start to judge yourself harshly or want to force yourself to be “spiritual” about it, pause. Take a breath. Then ask yourself: "What if this moment isn't something to fix, but something to embrace?"

Notice what happens when you let yourself be exactly who you are in that moment - frustrated, amused, confused, or whatever shows up. That's where real spiritual growth happens - not in the carefully curated moments of perfection, but in these raw, real instances of being utterly, magnificently human.

So here's your invitation: set aside any preconceived ideas of achieving perfect spiritual mastery and embrace your beautifully real self. When zen finds you, it probably won't look like a set of curated reels - but it will be authentically, gloriously yours.