— COUNSELOR EZRI DAX. STRANGE BEDFELLOWS. Stardate Not Given

The description that we’re only “people” bears repeating. Not to excuse our flaws, or our laziness. Not to free us to act out our worst impulses, but to act out our best.

In our quest for excellence and self-realization, we need to know that we’ll often miss the mark. There will be long seasons of failure. Mistakes may haunt us for years.

…Unless we accept that we are imperfect, that life is about learning from our mistakes and then moving on.

But that’s just half of it. Ezri’s words aren’t meant only to make us feel better. “We’re not gods or prophets” is also the principle which should guide our relationships with others. For just as we must be free to fail (or else we can’t grow), so must they. Forgiving others for their inevitable mistakes is inseparable from forgiving ourselves.

A Bajoran prophet echoed this universal sentiment when she said: “Be compassionate toward your neighbors, and to the strangers among you. Know that they are searching for self-understanding as you are. Do not think their struggles easier, nor their mistakes more grievous. In truth you are all on the same journey, and the comfort you offer them along the way becomes your own.”

Sometimes comfort is all we need to keep moving.

I accept myself exactly as I am now, just as I accept others. Admitting my imperfections removes the obstacles between me and my ideal Self.

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The above meditation is taken from Going Boldly on Your Inner Voyage © 1999-2004, IF Books.

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