The Beauty Of Imperfection: Why Flaws Make Us Unique
Picture this: As far as your eye can go, there are houses, cars, all similar, and even the people are dressed in similar garments; what emotion does this make you feel? Like time stood still, as all you can see, is the same monotony. It will bore you to death, however picture-perfect it may look.
Perfection is like a mirage; the more we aspire for it, the more distant it seems. No one is perfect in this world. They may appear to be perfect in terms of wealth, material possessions, and relationships, but they are no different from you or me. Deep inside, they face the same insecurities, doubts, and stress that we do. We get taken in by their appearances, not knowing what their life has been or is like. Therefore, we aspire to emulate them and begin our non-stop journey akin to a dog chasing its tail, in search of the elusive perfection.
Imperfection, on the other hand, is the much-needed reality check that we require to spice up our lives. It is beautiful: as we accept ourselves, for who we are, with all our flaws and misgivings, leading to genuine happiness.
“There is a kind of beauty in imperfection”
Flaws make us unique
Strange as it may sound, it is the flaws that make us stand out, be unique! Let us see the qualities that these flaws possess to make us better human beings.
- Acceptance: We learn to accept ourselves, with our quirks and qualms.
- Self-love: We learn to respect and love ourselves despite our quirks and qualms.
- No pressure: We learn not to stress about making our life flawless, but rather move ahead, “as is.”
- Satisfaction: We learn to be satisfied with what we have, but this should not stop us from working towards improving ourselves.
- No expectations: We learn not to have great expectations, but just do our best, as best as we can.
- Happiness: We learn to be happy in our skin, and there is no greater joy than that.
- Resilient: We learn to be resilient over time.
- Just be: We learn to “just be” ourselves without any false efforts.
- Relationships: We learn to forge genuine relationships without any pretensions.
Embracing all our flaws is what sets us apart (mind you: these are not the silly mistakes or knowingly done blunders), rather the habits/traits that make us feel unworthy, unloved, misunderstood, misjudged or prone to adverse reactions, that we are living with. This makes us yearn for the “perfect” life, with the “perfect” family, the “perfect” (read- high end and ridiculously expensive) material possessions in it, little knowing that this will not make us happy, as money cannot buy us love or peace of mind or satisfaction or a good night’s sleep, for that matter.
The Japanese have a philosophy named “Wabi-Sabi” (wabi = less is more; sabi = attentive melancholy), which means finding beauty in imperfection, simplicity, and impermanence. It celebrates the essence of appreciating and accepting everything, with its flaws and deficiencies, thereby making it all the more beautiful and wholesome. It teaches us to be more mindful and see the beauty in simple things. It makes us accept the reality of life: that nothing is permanent in this world, what has come has to go.
To cite an example: There are two actors, well past their prime. (i) Lady A: is ageing gracefully – with the wrinkles, grey hair and (ii) Lady B: is ageing, but using artificial means, like Botox fillers, injections, medication, to hide her true age, looks and features.
On closer look, you will find that Lady A, with her wrinkles etc. looks beautiful than ever; while Lady B looks as though her face has been ironed (the skin has tightened a tad too much and the weight gain as a side effect of medication) making her look unflattering and far from attractive. If Lady B had not meddled with her natural ageing process, she would have looked much prettier than her present “ironed” version.
“Your imperfections are marks of authenticity… And that is the beauty of you “
Once we have accepted ourselves, we learn to face each challenge and setback without any fear of failure. We learn that it is perfectly fine to slip and fall, and stand up tall, once again. We learn to live without validation from others; after all, we are the ones who matter the most to ourselves, not others. We learn to break free of false stereotypes and are comfortable in our own skin. We learn to overcome tragedy/loss and heal and become better human beings.
“We are all perfectly imperfect and that’s perfectly alright”
