THAT 1% OF IMPERFECTION

To be human is to err. Try as we may we simply cannot get rid of this erring side of ours, which sometimes we wish never existed. And yet we find that the small joys in our life would’ve never existed hadn’t it been for this trait.

No one loves a clean washed road after the rains without jumping into the small pothole-puddle (and then curse the municipality after splashing in it!).We see a bunch of pups and immediately cuddle the one with a spotted coat. A streak of grey in a bunch of cottony white clouds brings happy tears to the eye of the thirsty farmer – a silver lining indeed.  All of us crave the perfect “happily ever afters” in fairy tales or love stories but not without the initial ups-downs, struggles, villainous schemes- in totality the imperfections. Oh yes, now that makes up for an interesting read indeed! And had it not been for the imperfections in the DNA replication process, the human species would’ve consisted simply of clones of one organism. That would be like looking into a mirror in every direction. SCARY thought!

On those blue days when all the odds seem stacked against us, everything seems to be falling out of place and it is a “why me!” kind of a situation at hand, without a second thought, we curse the person up there for being unable to create a perfect cocoon of life for us. From time immemorial, the terms flawless, perfect have been glorified and considered as standard references for any dimension of existence.

But the stepping stones to achieve them are by the means of overcoming imperfections. The journey is as important as the destination. And imperfections do make the journey- one hell of a ride! The process of our metamorphosis into a strong butterfly, into someone who has an ever-progressing attitude and keen on taking the world with sheer will power- wouldn’t have been possible had we had a perfect, sheltered cocoon since the start. We grow and fight our way towards our goals upon being challenged by the imperfections in our lives. Theses imperfections take myriad forms- competition in academics or the workplace, trying to get a revolutionary policy implemented in an existing system or getting the team together on a particularly difficult match day and likewise.

Imperfections, our very own idiosyncrasies are what set us apart from others. The very dystopian nature of human society is rooted in this fact. And even though the long awaited dream is that of achieving utopia- that’ll make our existence pretty boring, right? It wouldn’t be actually wrong to say that we can assert our identities as individuals due to our inherent imperfections. The world easily remembers where geniuses were flawed in their achievements and yet fails to see that it were precisely those imperfections that awoke the genius in them.

Just a look around and we see a girl with that hair swaying perfectly in the breeze, or that guy who grabbed the latest upgrade at job – a long sigh follows with the exclamation “why can’t I have a life as perfect!”

Before designating their conditions perfect, we must ask ourselves just once: do we even know the full story? The perfect curls or perfect job are all aftermath of pre-existing imperfections. Nobody’s perfect- they won't be human if they were! Power-puff girls wouldn’t be the same if their recipe did not include the imperfect chemical X! Science and everyday learning would be no fun without the usual anomalies or aberrations in them. Again who doesn’t look for loopholes or lacunas in the rules, to get our way past without actually breaking them – that is where we savour the existence of imperfections in life!  

Recognition of our imperfections and taking a holistic approach by their integration- is a far better method of self development- than simply ignoring them and vying for perfection. We do not need any guru, philosopher or shrink to tell us that! Pride your imperfections like your capabilities.