The Perfect Imperfections

A diamond with a flaw is worth more than a pebble without imperfections. – Chinese Proverb

In the movie Vivarium, a couple ends up at a house that they can’t leave. No matter where they drive or how far they walk, they always end up back at the same house. Soon, they begin to notice that everything in their new neighborhood is “perfect.” All of the houses look the same, it’s dead-quiet, and there is no smell in the air. As the couple takes a bite of a perfectly red, plump, beautiful strawberry, they realize that the food (although perfect-looking) has no taste. One day as the girl lays out on the perfect lawn and looks up at the sky, she sighs as she watches the perfect clouds go by. She reminisces about the world she came from where the clouds were interesting shapes and no two were exactly the same.

As I stepped out on my patio this morning, the noisy city sounds instantly struck me. Some mornings the noise annoys me, but this morning I thought about what it would be like if it was total quietness. How boring! Looking around I saw a worker fixing a window, the lightrail dropping people off to get their day started, the train passing through the city, and people laughing and talking. And, I felt grateful that I could experience each of them as part of my morning.

Is there some imperfection in your life that maybe, just maybe, is perfect after all? Share by leaving a comment (reading this via email? Click “Read in browser” below).
*This is a repost from a previous The Way Back blog entry.