Is it Done Yet?

I received my CreateSpace book proof in the mail. It was an exciting moment -- the cover process was more involved, the uploading process required more intensive work -- creating a physical version of Shoulder Surgery Recovery was a serious venture. An electronic file can be corrected, edited, enlarged upon and re-uploaded in a matter of 12 hours if a typo or extra space is found after publication. A physical book with cover, spine, back copy, left/right pages, bleed choices and more, is permanent. I've been reluctant to let it be seen in public until I'm certain it is perfect in my eyes. It's already been two weeks -- I'm still tinkering with the last few changes.

Yet I hesitate to go back and re-do the whole process if I catch a tiny gaffe minutes before commiting to print. Lao Tzu says "true perfection seems imperfect, yet it is perfectly itself." I'm an imperfect being, yet I'm perfectly myself. The same goes for what I create. I guess that infintesimal flaw is what makes the book perfectly itself. The hairline crack in the vase, the one mismatched tile on the floor, the search for the perfect word to convey a feeling -- I have to ask myself, do I stay behind closed doors forever, working feverishly to present only perfection to the world? Or do I fling the doors open wide on my vulnerability and go forth into the world to share myself and my message, perfect in my imperfection? I don't have an answer...time will tell.