The enemy of the good

I used to think that the enemy of the great was the good---that you might miss out on the great job because you had a good one you weren't willing to let go. That people settled too often in too many areas of life because things were good, could be better, but good, so why do anything about it?

There is still an element of truth there, when it comes to risk-taking, but the greater truth I'm learning is that the enemy of the good is the illusion of perfect.



We made strawberry freezer jam last week.

 

It was not perfect. Prime strawberry season was over two months ago. Our own strawberries this year were sweet but small because we need to thin the patch (not that any berry would ever make it inside with these berry-loving boys).

I started reading about pectin jam vs. pectin free jam online, and the "right" way to make jam versus the wrong way, and suddenly the fun, easy job seemed overwhelming. Too often I psyche myself out of trying something because it won't turn out perfect.

So for once, I did a very smart thing. I turned the computer off. And we made jam.

 

12 little jars of jam. They aren't perfect.

 

But they are very, very good.