{"id":9659,"date":"2014-12-17T12:59:47","date_gmt":"2014-12-17T17:59:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/beginnersheart\/?p=9659"},"modified":"2014-12-17T12:59:47","modified_gmt":"2014-12-17T17:59:47","slug":"it-doesnt-have-to-be-perfect-the-enemy-of-good","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/beginnersheart\/2014\/12\/it-doesnt-have-to-be-perfect-the-enemy-of-good.html","title":{"rendered":"it doesn’t have to be perfect (the enemy of good)"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Last night’s\u00a0dinner\u00a0was\u00a0brought to you by some obscure soup company. Canned clam chowder, w\/ the addition of cracked pepper & white corn. YUM! Served w\/ water crackers, & a side of tabbouleh I made a couple of days ago. What my grandmother used to call ‘fixed’ food, compared to ‘cooked’ food.<\/p>\n

When you cook, you end up w\/ things like roast, or a casserole, or stuff that comes from ‘real’ ingredients. But when you ‘fix dinner,’ you throw things together: a can of clam chowder, the sweet corn. Gussy it up w\/ the fancy crackers, the cracked pepper. There’s gelato for dessert, too, which makes it all seem a bit more…polished. \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

I actually LIKE many canned soups, although certainly what I ‘cook’ is better than what I ‘fix.’ Still, where in landlocked Oklahoma am I going to find reliably fresh clams?? Hence the can thing. And I think much of life is like this: what do we deny ourselves, or downgrade, because it’s not exactly perfect? Should I never eat clam chowder again, unless I’m lucky enough to be on the shores where they live?<\/p>\n

I’m trying hard to be happy w\/ the less-than-perfect. As in: Hellman’s mayo is just fine in tuna salad; you don’t have to make mayo from scratch. Now, if I was making a from-scratch 7-layer salad? I’d probably take the time to make homemade mayo — it makes all the difference.<\/p>\n

By contrast, today’s brunch (we eat too late for it to be traditional breakfast!) was ‘cooked’: saut\u00e9ed green onions & tomatoes, a few leftover fried potatoes, a clove of garlic. Beaten eggs poured over, and then cheese sprinkled at the end, to melt in. Again, not fancy. Just good (enough). And that’s\u00a0just fine<\/em>. In life, as well as cooking.<\/p>\n

I used to tell my students:\u00a0it’s just school<\/em>. Not life. And even in life, perfection is almost always the enemy: what comes in nightmares to laugh at us, and mock our best efforts.<\/p>\n

Trust me: most of the time good enough is, well, good enough. In all areas. Honest. Ask my grandmothers, who often threw dinner together from what was around. And believe me: it was ALWAYS good.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  Last night’s\u00a0dinner\u00a0was\u00a0brought to you by some obscure soup company. Canned clam chowder, w\/ the addition of cracked pepper & white corn. YUM! Served w\/ water crackers, & a side of tabbouleh I made a couple of days ago. What my grandmother used to call ‘fixed’ food, compared to ‘cooked’ food. When you cook, you…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":398,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37,41,904,920],"tags":[11,1181,1187,262,1195,1196,1376],"class_list":["post-9659","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-family","category-food","category-good-enough","category-perfection","tag-beginners-heart","tag-britton-gildersleeve","tag-buddhism","tag-buddhist-blogs","tag-family","tag-food","tag-good-enough"],"yoast_head":"\nit doesn't have to be perfect (the enemy of good) - Beginner's Heart<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"  Last night's\u00a0dinner\u00a0was\u00a0brought to you by some obscure soup company. Canned clam chowder, w\/ the addition of cracked pepper & white corn. 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