The Thanksgiving turkey that was a bit more dry than I would have liked. The flower garden in full and glorious bloom that is unfortunately filled with weeds. The quilt I've spent days working on, to discover a mistake that cannot be corrected. What do these have in common? They are all imperfect, yet all have brought me great joy.
The somewhat dry bird is forgotten after the meal, but the memories of the time together with family and friends who gathered around that table remain in my head and heart for years to come.
The weeds in my flower beds prevent them from looking like the the glorious gardens we see when visiting arboretums in our travels, but I can see, smell, and enjoy the blossoms EVERY day, and feel the sun on my back as I lean in to pull those pesky weeds - what a glorious feeling!
The handmade quilt that I've spend many hours on, over a period of several months, when I finally step back and realize that I've placed a block wrong, or turned a quilting design in the wrong direction still has provided hours of enjoyment during the process of creation, and will continue to provide warmth and memories for years to come.
It's admirable to strive for perfection, to set it as a goal when we begin new projects, start a new job, or bring home a new baby to raise. But it's also unrealistic to expect that we will reach that goal in ALL that we do, and sad to see that people give up, or become bitter when that goal is not reached. Families are not perfect, but they are heart-warming, life-affirming, and provide such richness in our lives. Bosses become problematic, jobs turn sour, but they provide the money that allows us to live the life we choose AWAY from the job. That beautiful and remarkable baby cries all night, or gets a lower grade in school than parents would have liked, or struggles with choosing a career, but what a remarkable person that baby becomes, despite parental mistakes and life throwing curves.
Let's STRIVE for perfection - but gather joy from all that is rich and wonderful in our lives even though imperfect, because those less-then-perfect moments, tasks, and creations will form the majority of our lives. Enjoy these moments!
Bravo!!
ReplyDeleteStrive for perfection but gather joy from ALL the moments of our lives, perfect or not.
ReplyDeleteCouldn't have said it better myself! Great post, Liga.
Thanks ladies!
ReplyDeleteI think perfection is an illusion, there really is no such thing as perfection. Even if things look perfect on the outside,if we look close enough we can find those little things that aren't quite right, not too mention the challenges and struggles and "mistakes" made along the way to get there. So "here, here", great post! It's fine to set your sights high, but make sure the end goal is realistic and attainable. I'd rather have a handmade quilt with a 'mistake' than one mass produced on an assembly line with all the kinks worked out any day!
ReplyDeleteRe: "I think perfection is an illusion" - it certainly can be. On a very sad note, when I was much younger, I knew a family that according to all observers "had it all": Professional Mom, Professional Dad, very much in love, three beautiful and perfect daughters - we all wanted to BE them - to have THEIR family. Imagine our shock to hear that following yet another perfect family vacation, Dad shot mom and then himself in front of the kids, orphaning the girls in the most horrendous way imaginable. I don't know, and cannot begin to imagine what their real life consisted of, but it certainly was not the fairy-tale perfect existence we all saw....or thought we saw (true story). This is obviously a very extreme example of illusion vs reality, but I think often of how we long for the perfection that we think others have, letting our own nuggets of happiness slide by unnoticed as unimportant, rather than gathering them close and holding them tight, as we should because those moments are OUR lives - our legacy.
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