Welcoming imperfection doesn’t easily align with what many of us have been taught, whether by family, school, religion, or larger cultural messages urging us toward constant improvement. Perfection is the prize and, to be sure, it has its place. It’s the appropriate goal when landing a plane, say, and it inspires and delights when achieved by the orchestra, the chef, the architect, the poet. The list goes on; perfection is worthy of aspiration and praise — a powerful culmination of talent and hard work.
Grateful living certainly makes space for the awe that such perfection can inspire, but it also challenges us to welcome the unrefined edges, flaws, and messiness of imperfection. And let’s be honest: that’s pretty much most of life. It’s understandable that one may initially shrink from the idea of welcoming imperfection, but embracing imperfection is not about relinquishing excellence. It’s not about saying, oh, it’s good enough. Instead, it’s learning that living well — whether at work, in our relationships, with ourselves — includes imperfection.
In this essay, our Director of Education Sheryl Chard reflects on the liberating lessons of imperfection that she learned two decades ago at the start of what she had imagined would be the most perfect year.
|
