Flaws

The other night I had a conversation with a friend about the notion of perfection. As we went back and forth in the debate, it was clear we had two different ideas about the notion. Then my friend presented the point that your flaws are what make you perfect.

If you know me at all, you know that I have a lot of these random and deep conversations. While I like deep thoughts, this is never a notion that I had previously considered. This conversation has stuck with me unlike any other I have had. It has left my mind in a paradoxical state that continues wandering as it looks for an answer.

From the time we are able to form thoughts, perfection is presented to us in an ideal that is lofty and unattainable. It is something that does not have a clear definition, but it is true that it can not be reached by any of us. Perfection is comparable to such wealthy ideals as diamonds.

So go with the idea of a diamond. The diamond is considered as close to as perfection as can possibly be attained on earth. But think of where the diamond came from. The diamond was not sent from another location considered to be lofty. Rather, it came from the opposite of what anyone would consider to be perfection. It comes from the ground and the dirt below us.

The dirt below us - the thing we take for granted. We take for granted it will always be below us, supporting us, keeping us up above. The thing we see as dirty and below us, both figuratively and literally, produces some of the most beautiful things we've ever seen. So if the nasty and the grimy are what produce perfection, do our flaws produce the perfection in us?

It's quite the ironical paradox to assume that the worst creates the best. If you think about it though, it's quite true. We all make mistakes, and there is no doubt about that. If you ask anyone about their mistakes, they can go back and explain various things they learned from their mistakes. Be it better decisions they intend to make, the changes they intend to make in how they treat others, the list is endless. But ultimately the mistakes that we make change something in us for the better.

The mistakes are the dirt in us, and they produce the perfection inside of us that is the diamonds.

"Many individuals have, like uncut diamonds, shining qualities beneath a rough exterior."
Juvenal