Awareness of Ideals

Today, I was tutoring my student about mission statements. I came across an idea that mission statements are somewhere between the visionary and the concrete. A mission statement that lacks "specifics" is going to appear over-idealistic and somewhat wishy-washy. On the other hand, a mission statement that only consists of concrete "facts" or "specifics" lacks a wider view about what a person or organization intends to do for some greater good.
  I am sometimes afraid that too much "vision" even in religion can lead to unrealistic idealizations of ourselves and our capacities to live in the spirit. As I get older, I become more exposed to the harshness of packed schedules and lack of sleep. I experience the limits of my body and consciousness in those moments, yet, for me, this kind of life seems more true to life than a life entirely free from the earth. It's as though a part of me wants my feet to be firmly touching the ground, even if each step seems wearisome.
   In Chan Buddhist tradition, there is the saying that "all actions are Chan", which means that the spirit is never far from the ordinary things of this world, whether it's eating, sleeping, working or taking a shower. Every one of these activities is none other than acts of mind. Where does "idealization" set in? For me, it's when I seek to become a better person or a kind of mental ideal, without realizing that the ideal is just that: a kind of mental projection. There is a kind of subtle self there: the projection of how I wish to be seen as "spiritual" in others' eyes. What then happens is that I subtly reject this actual moment in favor of an idealized possibility. This then leads to conflict between this idealized self and the rejected one which ends up being split off or repressed.
   The only way I have been able to avoid this situation is by seeing the spiritual in the ordinary itself: in the tired feet, in the busy days at work, in the rain, in the bus ride home. By not separating these from some idealized or sacred view, I allow these experiences to become part of the practice of being present.