We recently purchased a brand new house…a town house really, in the city. It didn’t have a kitchen, closets or lights, and we renovated 2 bathrooms.
I’m not sure I would consider myself a perfectionist, personally. I know I’m not perfect and I’m ok with that. But for things, yes, I struggle when they are not perfect. Especially so when they were once new, and then made imperfect in some way.
Lately these lyrics have been streaming through my mind on repeat…
“They will see us waving from such great heights
“Come down now,” they’ll say
But everything looks perfect from far away
“Come down now,” but we’ll stay”
Everything looks perfect from far away. Someone’s life. A relationship. A job. Even a new bathroom.
And then you look closely…really closely. And there are imperfections. If you look close enough, they’re everywhere, and try as you may, you cannot make them perfect.
This is a great challenge for me. I experience it in renovations, but also other areas of life. The only thing that helps me?
Perspective.
We are so spoiled, many of us. I am so spoiled. I live a wonderful life in a beautiful home with a loving marriage and a great job. They are not perfect. They may look that way from afar, but I can assure you, I have days of heartache just like anyone else.
But isn’t this life? Perfectly imperfect. I have so much to be thankful for. How shallow to dwell on the minor imperfections rather than the major blessings?! We all need to humble ourselves once in a while.
We should remember… Imperfect doesn’t mean less beautiful or less special. Perhaps you’ve read about the Japanese tradition, known as kintsugi or kintsukuroi. When pottery breaks, they put it back together and the fragments are sealed with gold powder. It becomes even more beautiful through its rebuild.
As my husband said to me as we were choosing our kitchen countertops, no one has ever looked at the statue of David and said, “wow, that marble doesn’t look so good anymore”. If only we can all age as gracefully as Michelangelo’s masterpiece…