Working towards a state of enlightenment, whatever that means for you, is admirable. Google says enlightenment is “the action of enlightening or the state of being enlightened”. I don’t find defining a word by using the word you’re trying to define to be entirely useful. However, it highlights the lack of objectivity around the subject. Enlightenment is subjective. There’s no universal definition. Enlightenment isn’t a one size fits all. For me, a state of enlightenment means a state of peace, of acceptance, of fulfillment, of self-trust, of taking care of myself and loving myself because I know I deserve to be taken care of and loved. It’s finding my bliss, remaining calm in stressful situations, staying grounded, having boundaries, following my happiness, taking care of my body. These are worthy pursuits. They leave me feeling good.

But I don’t think enlightenment comes from having a perfect morning routine, drinking a green juice every day, writing a gratitude journal, or even finding joy in the simple moments. Although these things surely help.

A vital part of enlightenment is realizing that we are human. In accepting and being okay with the fact that we won’t always make the “right” decisions. Being okay with the fact that we won’t always do our best, that sometimes we’ll mess up. It’s realizing that no one is enlightened 100 percent of the time. Enlightenment is not judging ourselves when we “slip up”. It’s  being okay with getting off track, with over eating every once in a while, with not exercising for a few days, with losing our cool on our partner or our child and not judging ourselves for it. To instead choose to learn and grow from it and move on. It’s being okay with our indiscretions because we know we’ll get back to being the person we truly are when we’re ready.

There are no enlightened beings. No one is perfectly intentional or mindful all of the time. Everyone makes mistakes. Everyone occasionally acts in a way they would prefer to not act. That’s okay. That is part of the human experience. There are no enlightened beings. If you’re striving to get to a place in your journey where you will never mess up, you’ll be striving your entire life. There are just enlightened moments. Moments so beautiful they take your breath away. Moments where you surprise yourself. Moments where you are so full of love that you could cry. And that, is more than enough.