My mother tells how when I was in grade school I wanted to take dance lessons, so she enrolled me in ballet. Although I approached the activity with forceful energy and my typical incorrigible enthusiasm, I lacked grace.

Grace is one of those words whose meaning has been diffused by so many strands of religious tradition that it is hard to use without confusion.

Afterward, we want to say,

But can’t we do that over?

Say, But it was a mistake!

Contrary to popular belief, there is something to be said for failings and foibles. After all, mistakes are the basis of our whole diverse, ever-changing, interdependent web of life.

Mistakes. The longer I live, the more clearly I know that I’ll never quit making them. So, one skill that I have honed to a fine point is that of apologizing.

The reason I’ve been able to

produce so much

is that I’m not a perfectionist—

I’m an imperfectionist.

Each day I am newly reminded of my unworthiness: a dozen thoughts misspoken; another day when the good I do falls so far short of the good that I could do...

It’s no secret that the CLF is willing to try new things and risk mistakes to reach more people with a Unitarian Universalist message of hope, love, and justice.

If you enjoy the ways in which Monthly Quest gets you thinking, come join the conversation on Facebook—search for the CLF Quest Monthly Theme Discussion Group.

My youngest sister Beth was very talented physically. When she was seven she could roller skate across the basement, up the stairs, down the steep driveway and the steeper hill of the road with perfect balance and grace. But she was very shy.