Perfection is overrated, showing up is enough.
As-sallam alaykum warahmatullah wabarakatuh,
I do hope this meets you in peace. How did your week go? What are your plans for the last ten days of Ramadan? Has any of the dua on your prayer list been answered? Do you feel connected to your Rabb?
Alhamdulillah. I am grateful for this opportunity to share my thoughts with you. My week was okay. A lot happened this week that I wasn’t prepared for. Starting from Monday, I went from one hot seat to another. Alhamdullilah, I am grateful for the lessons. I am also grateful for my friends and family who helped me out with one thing or the other while I navigated the strange waters.
For those who don’t know, I am a final year Electrical Engineering student at the University of Ibadan. I had my project proposal defence last Wednesday. Amidst the sweet smiles, sweaty hands and shaky voices, I learnt more about life than the technical knowledge I was meant to acquire from my lecturers and colleagues. I learn more from watching people than I do from interacting with them.
You can observe a lot by just watching. - Yogi Berra
The first lesson I’ll like to share with you is the act of showing up. Showing up as your true self every single day, irrespective of challenges and obstacles is what I call perfection. And perfection is overrated. We are human and Almighty Allah who created us gave room for mistakes. He is always there to receive us when we come back to Him. So why should we, humans, expect perfection from ourselves?
A colleague lost his father on the day we presented our project proposal. He showed up at the seminar in an ironed suit and clean shoes. As expected, he wasn’t emotionally fit to engage with people and he didn’t try to hide this fact. On Wednesday, I learnt that showing up is enough. Show up when you feel like sleeping in, show up when you feel like shutting down. You do not have to show up as your true self. You do not have to show up with the perfect smile. Show up with sweaty hands and a shaky voice.
Photo by Hasan Almasi on Unsplash
Standing before a group of certified Engineers at different stages of their professions can be nerve-racking. It’s easy to lose your line of thoughts and to shut down when you’re being asked questions. So the thunderclaps and kind gestures came in handy. The funny videos and comments helped lighten up the room. The pictures and WhatsApp notes helped document the memories and moments. We defied gravity together, as a group of imperfect beings navigating this year with all we’ve got left in us. Together, we achieved more.
As we go into this new week, I hope you show up for yourself. I hope you hold space for people around you who can’t do that by themselves. I hope you’ll be generous with your smiles and kind gestures. I pray you don’t give up when the going gets tough. I hope you give your best during these last days of Ramadan. I pray your prayers are answered. And I pray your trust in Allah be renewed and strengthen. Ameen.
Oh, my project proposal defence went well by the way. Alhamdulillah.
With love and peace,
Umaynah
Jazakhumullah khairan. 💜