The beauty of imperfection

"Portrait in Sepia" - Acrylic painting by Paulina Ponsford

What is Perfection? The definition of perfection is "the condition, state, or quality of being free or as free as possible from all flaws or defects." Have you ever met someone perfect? I'll leave the answer with you. Why is it then that we are always in the futile quest for perfection?

We strive for perfection in all facets of our lives: on the way we look; on our work; on our homes; even on the way we raise our children—we want perfection everywhere! The truth is that "Perfection" is an elusive lover that hopefully, in time, we realize we will never find because it doesn't exist!

Was the concept of perfection ingrained in our brains as babies? Was it because we had to be perfect beautiful children, well behaved, with top grades in school, and all of these to deserve our parents' love?—Or so we thought! As young adults, we had to be attractive, popular, and still have top grades in school! The search for perfection never ends—once we have "fixed" an imperfect aspect of our lives, we see how imperfect another one is—an endless cycle of frustration and disappointment!

I used to be a perfectionist, everything had to be pefect—the way I looked, the way my home looked, the way my work was done, etc.—until I started painting again and discovered the beauty of imperfection through my art. At first, I wanted all my projects and paintings to turn out the way I perceived as perfect, this would not happen as often as I wanted to, of course! In time, a new awareness started to awaken in me, when I looked at beautiful faces with what modern society would consider imperfect features, and yet lovely. I began to look closely at nature, leaves, rocks, and I became aware of the beauty of imperfection everywhere!

Now I realize that looking for perfection is nothing but running around in circles chasing our own tails. Perfection is arbitrary and rigid, it's also a sure recipe for continuous failure. Imperfection, on the other hand, is the true nature of the human race. That's where the beauty of our faces is, the beauty of our character, the beauty of this bumpy journey called life. Accepting and living with imperfection takes courage, but at the same time, it brings peace and awareness to one's life, it brings a clear focus on what really matters. Imperfection is perfection!