"The world must keep one great amateur, lest we all become artists and perish."
When I started this blog, three years ago three days ago, I chose the above quote by G.K. Chesterton as my tagline because I knew that my work here would not be perfection. A month ago, it was pointed out to me that I had “parish” instead of “perish” up there. Good thing I’m not a perfectionist. Except maybe I am.
You see, it took me almost a month to write this post. Assuming, of course, that I actually finish this post. I’ve started it so many times in my head, and even on paper, so perhaps I shouldn’t assume anything! But, being my hundredth published post, I wanted it to be something special. Alas, my perfection led to procrastination.
Isn’t that the way it goes, though? We are afraid to do things, because we are afraid we can’t do them well. Sometimes, it is because of fear of ridicule from others. Other times, we don’t want to “waste our time.” Or perhaps it is the money we don’t want to waste. And there are times when we are right to hesitate. For example, sewing your own wedding dress when you have never sewn a stitch is a very, very, very bad idea. And I suppose there are those who would argue that those who have no literary degree should not be writing. Or those who have not been trained to sing, should not sing.
Well, if you are one of those miserable naysayers, I suggest you go find something else to do, and leave me to my fun. Because that’s all this blog is - a bit of fun. Hopefully now and then I hit on something truly edifying, but that isn’t really why I started it. I started it, if I recall correctly, because I felt that sharing recipes and patterns and ideas was a very good idea. This was before pinterest, mind you. I had lots of ideas on what I could share. And really, it’s just because I like to do lots and lots of different things. I do them because I enjoy them. Not always because I’m especially good at them (playing the piano comes to mind. And the guitar. And the violin. And the recorder.)
What WOULD happen if there were no amateurs, only artists? Well, I think we would lose many special things. Like creativity and innovation. But not just that. We would also lose mothers singing lullabies, and fathers building doll houses. We would lose grandma’s crocheted scarves (a little too long) and grandpa’s paper airplanes (a little too heavy.) Would Joe dare to write a letter? Would Judy dare to bake a pie?
Another favorite quote from Mr. Chesterton: “If a thing is worth doing, it is worth doing badly.” Perhaps our defense is not eloquent enough (or graceful enough,) but still the defense must be made. Or the profession of faith. Or of love! Attempting something new can be challenging. For example starting a blog. It looks easy at the outset, and is great fun. But pretty soon it is a week, or two weeks, or three months between posts. Why bother? It’s not like I have many readers, anyhow. If I had any sense at all, I’d just give up.
But you know what? I don’t want to. I like blogging. I like having somewhere to share my ideas and my perfect Strawberry Rhubarb Pie. I don’t care if it’s not perfect. Well, I do, but I know that if I allow my perfectionism to kick in, it will drag along procrastination, and do it’s best to bump off perseverance. So begone, perfectionist! You don’t belong HERE. This is a blog strictly for amateurs. And if it takes me another three years to make it to 200 posts, so be it. I’m going to hang on and enjoy the ride...and the scenery.
Congrats Rae! Love the car by the way. :)
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