It’s tempting to believe that others have their life more together than we do.  That they have a delicious life that we ought to envy. And that they never fall apart. From the few glimmers that we get, we assume that they never do things that are completely inappropriate, immature, or ridiculous.

But here’s the truth: we all have our messy taco moments, when everything just comes pouring out. And that’s a good thing!

Let me explain…

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Living our best lives doesn’t mean we’re the best at holding it all together or appearing perfect. Living our best lives means embracing the messy (and delicious) pieces of our lives too! After all, who doesn’t lap up the crumbs and strings of melted cheese after devouring a taco?

Life is messy, but with all the messes we make along the way, life is also pretty delicious.

I used to think that a disaster or an embarrassing mistake was justification to exit stage left, never to return to the scene again.  That’s how I’d approach relationships, jobs, group events, and anything involving humans.  But the funny thing was that no matter how I tried, I kept making mistakes and doing things that were horribly embarrassing!

It seemed like these blunders kept following me no matter what I did. NO amount of foil could help me contain it all!

You know what I’m talking about.  Those moments in life that still make you red in the face. The ones that, even in retelling them, make you cringe. Yep, the memories that we’d rather not have in our past at all.

They’re usually rather embarrassing and are almost always our fault (even if we’re still not willing to admit that in public).  And it’s in these moments that we fear the worst – that if we can’t hold it all in, we’re not worthy.

It doesn’t matter how we choose to judge these experiences – humbling, embarrassing, educational, terrible. The fact is that when we try to maintain control too often, we miss out on the, sometimes hilarious, taco moments where we do the most growing and transforming.

Don’t hear me wrong, I don’t wish for you to to experience an unrelenting flow of moments that cause your cheeks to flush and your ears to feel on fire. That would be exhausting, and a little sad.  But when those moments do appear, maybe we can begin to appreciate them for their messy and yummy bits. They’re so rich with lessons in humility and compassion.

Feeling a sense of control in your life is important. It can help you feel safe enough to assimilate your learning from taco moments. But taco moments are also a vital part of life that we shouldn’t try to avoid or forget. It’s where we discover that we have more empathy and compassion than we thought – for ourselves and those around us.

That’s the true meaning of living a delicious life. To take all the messes in stride and transform them into love.

So celebrate your taco moments!  You biggest leaps towards transformation will occur there because of the messes in your life. And if you can remember to treat yourself with compassion throughout those blunders, you will come out the other side where life is truly delicious.

Take a moment right now and think about a phrase you can say to yourself in a taco moment. How will you remind yourself that the messes are proof that you’re on your way to an even more delicious life? Leave your phrase in the comments below so that you can help inspire others to embrace their taco moments.

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