Between Aspiration and Realization

Maybe aspiration
is more important
than realization.

Who has completely always done
every bit, hint, and flicker
of the Ten Commandments?
Never tripped up,
and killed that mosquito?
Oops, never coveted, dishonored,
idolized, or stole someone’s joy?
We laugh when we say
they are not the ten suggestions
but truly, isn’t it really about
earnestly making an effort
in a virtuous direction?

We self-immolate,
and make resolutions,
since what we hope to do
matters in every moment,
in every life,
in each fresh week,
and every new year.
We can berate ourselves
for not getting every last
microscopic aim fulfilled,
but let’s be more interested
in whether we’ve actually
endeavored to reach
any high goals.

Flawed execution
is far preferable
to never having
exerted yourself.
How about doing so
assiduously, even vehemently?
We achieve so very little
compared to our boundlessly
vast capacity, but do you
even expend a scrap of energy
or mildly tempestuous struggle
to achieve your profound ideals?

We can be spattered
with slight failings galore,
but yay, that means
we were in there
mucking about
doing our utmost,
which is so much better
than blandly standing
along side judging
with clean hands
and slippered feet.

Sure, it would be
nice to attain
all we desire or pursue,
and what we expect
out of ourselves,
but I’d rather accomplish
part of something substantial
than dither,
falter, and hesitate,
preoccupied with
paralyzing perfectionism.
Brooding and obsessiveness
thwart progress,
as do inattentiveness,
distraction, and fear.

Thou shat not,
and blessed if you do,
both barely begin to touch
the act of sincerely striving
to carry out
even a small rendition
of any intent.

Vaguely yearning is one thing,
owning you should do something
is another, while prompting
and urging yourself
gets a little closer.
Leveraging the actual
momentum needed
to overcome inertia
and make a conscientious start
can be downright heroic.
Then continuing to cultivate
tiny positive actions
in an onward,
compounding direction
is a further demanding stretch
but unfortunately also required.

Yes, it takes bravery,
intrepid courage,
and plucky daring
to venture beyond
your aspirations
to make them into
an eventual baseline,
because the project never ends.
We can always conceive of more.
Don’t get disheartened by that;
find it liberating instead!
We can find endlessly
novel and varied ways
to utilize our gifts,
to raise our standards,
to scrub our character,
and to shine up
our tarnished habits.

So plunge right into
the messy doing of it.
It feels fabulous– splashing,
swimming, and floating–
while expectant but immobile
armchair inclinations
only dryly daydream
of distant water.

Let’s get wet
and have fun paddling about.
Aspirations are well and good,
sweet and needed.
Collect them, savor them,
and string them like beads
onto lovely long lists.
But working toward them
is heaps, tons,
and enormously huge gobs
more important and essential
than however relatively faultless
(or disastrously dreadful)
you are at implementation.

So dive in!
The water is fine!
Have good objectives,
and then, merely by
genuinely attempting them,
you’ll be tremendously
already winning,
having pivoted decisively
toward resounding success.

by Polly Castor
1/5/2026