xbp, I’ll tell you a little secret, ready? No one’s perfect, only Hashem is perfect. So it really doesn’t matter if the table is set perfectly, or if your eye make-up is on quite straight. Don’t sweat the small stuff. Honestly, if someone has a perfect nose, their lips might be a little crooked or their feet might be very large. Hashem has a very interesting sense of humor, really I promise.
So stop being so hard on yourself. What will happen if one napkin is folded incorrectly. Either someone goes back to refold the napkin or that person who gets that napkin uses a napkin that wasn’t folded correctly, or uses a fork that was on the wrong side of the plate, or a cup that was an inch too far or whatever. It really doesn’t have an effect on the party. And if someone is looking at you take that as a compliment and smile at them and say hello.
Would you believe me if I told you I was very shy in school as well. I was even shy when I first got married. On my first job straight out of high school I begged the phone not to ring so I wouldn’t have to answer it. Then I calmed myself down and told myself, they can’t see me and they don’t know me at the other end of the phone. My job is to help them. What will happen if it doesn’t go so well the first couple of times. They can’t hit me or bite me, so stop being so silly. That helped me calm down.
What happens if I make a mistake, or I say something silly and everyone laughs at me. I laugh too, and say well, I guess that was silly. Do you know what? Life doesn’t end at that moment when I get a little embarrassed. Life goes on and there are more opportunities for me to get embarrassed, but there are also many opportunities for me to feel really good about myself. And those opportunities await you as well. The more you try to be perfect and do everything perfectly the more Hashem will show you that perfection is saved for him alone.
I had a teacher in High School who refused to give anyone above a 98%. He said 100% is for Hashem. 99% he reserved for himself. Students deserve 98% and below. Why, he didn’t want us to feel superior and cocky. He said no one is perfect, and if we ever think we are or keep trying to be, he was going to teach us the truth. We should all just strive to do and be the best that we each can be and not worry about perfection.
So are you ready to try to be the best you can be and stop worrying about everyone else?