December 2, 2016
-
Imperfection
IMPERFECTION. ©
I found myself thinking a lot about this after a chat with a friend a few days back, who like me, thinks that perfection and imperfection are two sides of one coin
So many of us think that we have to be perfect. However for me it defeats the purpose of being just your self, where you can relax the way you want, kick your shoes back, listen to any music you want and basically be your own person. It would be good if we can tell ourselves that one of the goals in life is to not be perfect. Losing track of this aspiration gets us into a cauldron of disappointments, and we consider ourselves failures because, well just because we think we don’t measure up to our own set of rules. If life is about learning, experiencing, experimenting, then perhaps being imperfect is a prerequisite? If only we could let go of our intense quest for perfection, our life would be so much more interesting and perhaps we would aspire for imperfection instead. At least to a certain extent.
This absolutely does not imply that we should not strive to do our best or try to scale great heights in the pursuit of knowledge. It just means that there is no such thing as perfection, especially in life. If there were, then all living things that are in ceaseless state of movement will stop. Take our own bodies, we are growing and shedding cells every second and every minute; the blood is constantly in motion in our veins. Life changes more all the time. Perfection happens, but it does not last; because it is an impermanent state.
Trying to hold on to perfection or forcing it to happen will result in frustration and a futile attempt at happiness.
Despite this we continue to be in pursuit of perfection. We have to check and see if anyone is judging us to see whether or not we are perfect. How many times have we thought of our childhood and thought, if only we could accomplish this act, then we will be perfect and earn the respect and love of our parents and friends. So it shows that perfectionism is a holdover from childhood---an ideal we inherited from a demanding parent. We as adults, do not need the adulations or the need of approval from our colleagues. We can let go. We can choose the Universe as a loving place where we are free to be imperfect. Once this realization sets in, we can take ourselves less seriously, which results in more fun and more friends. Imperfection is inherent to being human. If only you can embrace imperfection, you will realize that you have embraced yourself.
Zakiah Sayeed 2001.
Comments (6)
I agree that it is important to strive to do our best -- however, since we are all human and humans are not perfect, it's also important not to place all our proverbial eggs in the basket of perfection, or we would live in a constant 'downer'. Perhaps a mark of happiness is the contentment we feel when we find ourselves succeeding in doing our best!
Throwback Thursday! This is a wonderful essay on the perils of perfection. Too many are searching for that elusive state that they fail to recognize the perfection that is imperfect!
Yes. You are right. The older I get the more I think we need laughter and fun in our lives. May God bless us all with that!
I agree. Try as hard as we can, we are human and we can't be perfect. We should accept ourselves as we are. That's why we need God's grace. He is the Only One who is perfect. The tragedies of the world are our fault, but He loves us anyway. Sorry, didn't mean to preach.
Yes, we are happy when we accept the imperfect and yet still strive for the best we can be. Blessings.
The older I get, the more I realize how imperfect I am and am becoming more imperfect with an aging body ~ but all of that is less and less important now too ~ I only want to be following God's will for my life ~
Comments are closed.