Unless you've been living in a bubble, it strikes me as pretty obvious that life is an imperfect place. That's not suggesting it's a bad place, just that it's not perfect.
And yet?
People so often seem to be mired down in a long series lamentations over the imperfections of life. This isn't right, and that isn't to their liking, and boo-hoo-hoo.
Maybe I've just grown more aware of it but it seems like the degree of complaining keeps getting a little more intense every year. And I'm certainly not claiming to be exempt from doing this sometimes, but there has to be some balance.
At the same time, the "wise people" of life typically suggest that we would do well to practice gratitude, on a regular basis... because there are a lot of things to be grateful for. But people continue to complain and complain, anyway.
This makes me sit back and wonder what's really going on here.
In doing so, I keep returning to the same thing: it isn't about whether or not life is imperfect, and life is pretty much as imperfect as it has ever been, the real issue at hand is that we seem to be developing increasingly inflated expectations of the notion that we get to have perfect lives.
Well, we don't... because life has always been imperfect and life will pretty much always be imperfect!
Sometimes it also feel like the world has grown increasingly intolerant of "less-than-perfect," which may just be another twist on the "inflated expectations" road.
The "countermeasures to being focused on life's imperfections is a practice of gratitude, particularly focusing on the good things we do have.
Which isn't to say that I am recommending that anyone start pretending the "bad stuff" isn't there, or doesn't upset you. It's more about opening up to a shift in focus. What do we pay the most attention to?
Our life here is definitely far from perfect, and it has been a pretty constant struggle to make ends meet since the beginning of the whole Covid thing.
But it doesn't stop me from pausing at the end of the day and taking a moment to remember what was good.
One of the things I like to remind myself — borrowed loosely from the Japanese philosophy of Wabi Sabi — is that there is often great beauty beneath the surface of that which appears broken and imperfect.
I like to think of the way some of the most beautiful turned wood bowls actually come from some of the gnarliest looking rootball sections of a tree that might even have been diseased. Definitely far from perfect, and yet these amazing burl wood pieces come from these unappealing looking chunks.
Enjoying what we already have is also a way to slow down in what is typically a hectic world. And much of the time, we can really use a bit of slowing down!
Thanks for reading, and have a great Friday!
How about YOU? Do you find it easy to accept life's imperfections? Or do you typically seek something close to perfection? Do you have a practice of gratitude? Comments, feedback and other interaction is invited and welcomed! Because — after all — SOCIAL content is about interacting, right? Leave a comment — share your experiences — be part of the conversation!
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Created at 20220415 00:18 PDT
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