“There is no cure for birth and death save to enjoy the interval.” – George Santayana
Imperfection (n): a fault or weakness, or incompleteness in a person, object, or system.
Imperfection is often my demon. I have struggled with it all my adult life. I want perfection in what I do, to settle for less is to surrender. Light switches need to be aligned perfectly, rug tassels just right (I got rid of rugs with tassels), the floors must be spotless, no weeds in the garden, plants growing perfectly, perfect order, perfect process, no stains on my shirt, and no break from routine, no mistakes…period. Sadly, it can and does lead to my anxiety. How can I learn to embrace imperfection?
My Mom lived with the mantra, “A place for everything and everything in its place.” My disdain for imperfection comes in part from my German heritage.
There’s an old saying that the shortest distance between two points is a straight line. If this is true, then it would posit that the longest distance between two points is a crooked line. If that is the case, I think I’ll take the crooked path-I’ll see a lot more that way.
Ease up on the throttle and apply the breaks to the speed of life. There is more to it than careening down the road hell bent on reaching your next destination faster than the next person. Stop your race car, get out, plant your feet firmly on the ground, breathe deep, smell the fresh air, taste the wind, hold a leaf in the palm of your hand, listen to the bird’s sing, and watch the clouds float by. Let all the others in a rush pass on by. Your destination will still be there tomorrow but the moment will not.
“What sane person could live in this world and not be crazy?” – Ursula Le Guin
Sometimes, I feel like I have failed at this thing called life. Two failed marriages under my belt. It often feels like I have never been really good at anything. Oh, I have had my successes but it is often difficult to look back and say I was really good at this or that. Perhaps I am a perfectly flawed human being and my imperfection is what I have been good at?
Be a youthful adventurer; a conqueror of mystical kingdoms. Tilt at windmills and slay those dragons of adulthood; recapture the childlike wonder that adulthood abandoned. Open your heart and mind up to being a child again. Oh, the things you will discover when you do.
One of my favorite words is from the Yiddish, “luftmensch”, meaning an impractical person whose head is in the clouds, and detached from practical matters like earning a living. Shouldn’t we all have a little bit of luftmensch in us? A practical life can be a dull one.
Is there beauty in imperfection?
“If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away.” – Henry David Thoreau
My Granddaughter Eloise Michelle DeLap. She remains in the NICU at Riley Hospital in Indianapolis. I held her for an hour and a half before I had to give up for her bath. BTW, she has blue eyes. She is still on a feeding tube but is breathing on her own right now. I am a lucky man, as imperfect as I am.