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 man wanted to have a
beautiful cradle made for his soon-to-be born first child. When he
inquired who was the best carpenter in town, everyone agreed that there
was only one—a real perfectionist.
The father went to
this carpenter and explained, “My wife is due to give birth in two months
and I would like to order a really nice cradle from you. I heard you were
one of the best carpenters.”
The carpenter puffed
up with pride and said, “Yes, I must say, you will have not just a cradle,
you’ll have a dream cradle, one that has never been seen before!”
The father was highly
excited.
“Wonderful! When will
it be ready?”
“Come next week.”
The father returned
the next week hoping to see the miracle of carpentry.
“Ah, yes, the cradle,”
said the carpenter as he delicately sanded a beautiful box. “Well, it's
not quite ready. It’s got to be perfect before I hand it over to you.”
“All right. When shall
I come back? Tomorrow?”
“Give me another week.
I want to do a really good job, you know.”
The father returned
the next week.
“I'm still not really
happy with my work,” the carpenter said. “Give me another week. I want to
really make the best possible cradle.”
Every week the father
returned and there was always an excuse why the cradle was not ready.
Eventually the child was born, and the father went and bought a cradle
somewhere else. His child grew up, became an adult, married, and his wife
became pregnant. The old dad reminisced, “You know, I once ordered a
cradle for you. Maybe it's ready by now. Why don't you go see the
carpenter and ask him. I was told that he’s really good.”
The son went to see
the old carpenter.
“My father had placed
an order for a cradle for me when I was a baby, and we were wondering if…
it was ready?”
The carpenter looked
up from his work bench and gripped his chisel with white knuckles.
“Listen, my boy,” he
pointed the chisel at the young man’s chest. “I do the best work! I don't
deliver shoddy goods. And I'm not going to have you or your father push
me around. Clear?”
The son realized he
was talking to a fool, and went and bought a cradle from another place.
Perfectionism can also
become a big obstacle in our spiritual life. I am sitting down for my
meditation, when I notice that the pictures on the altar are a little
crooked. As I tidy them up, I see a bit of dust that needs to be sponged
off. "And while I’m up, I might as well vacuum my prayer rug. Humm, this
rug is bit mangy. Let me go and buy a nice new one. Well, this new rug is
too big for the room—I’ll just make the living room my meditation room.
Now where do I entertain my friends? I’ll have to find a new house. Boy,
this new neighborhood is really noisy. Maybe it is time to settle in the
countryside, and I can build my own temple in the garden. And then
I can really start meditating..."
Short on excuses?
See
here for more examples of creative procrastination.
Yes, we can be
perfectionist in our dedication to reaching our highest potential—after
all, our ego would be only too happy to have us give up or get sloppy. But
divine perfectionism is always balanced with surrender. We do the very
best we can, and let God decide the outcome.
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