terrypetersen

Write what you know. That should leave you with a lot of free time. (Howard Nemerov)

Okay! The challenge is on.

I know imperfection inside and outside. My PhD has nothing to do with a doctorate in philosophy. I am positively of human design. The mirror has the audacity to point out every wrinkle and bulge in my barely five-foot-tall frame, and I don’t deny what it reflects. Sure I should have given away all of the rest of the Halloween candy, but some of it lives in a circle around my waist. At least the last bag will be empty soon. Then I can move on to perfection—never. Other flaws will pop out, probably out of my mouth in verbal form, or reflect in a stumble somehow.

Or, I can feel and worry a tad too much for my own good.

Last Sunday my precious oldest granddaughter broke her finger while she was at our house. I had answered the phone, and missed everything but the scream. As her mommy and daddy took her through the rounds of x-rays and doctors, my concern exceeded the practical.

In fact, as my husband and I took a long walk the next day, my little finger felt awkward inside my glove. Strange, I felt as if my hand didn’t fit into the weave anymore. Now that is going overboard! I suspect that if I had needed to take my granddaughter for the required medical visits, I would have quieted the over-the-top empathy and stood firm for her. However, that doesn’t mean my heart rate wouldn’t have developed the power to generate electricity.

Imperfect? The list of examples could go on for pages.

Somehow I suspect even the genius is made-up of more flaw than masterpiece. Omniscience is an incredible burden: no peers, all work, no play.

Give me friends who readily admit error. I’m comfortable around them. The folk who have all the answers either bore me into a stupor or tempt me to search the room for escape routes.

Okay, I’ve finished my dissertation on the common. Unfortunately, I don’t have hours of time left in my day to twiddle my thumbs and do nothing. Most of life’s chores don’t involve words;  knowledge is only part of my journey.

I hope everyone has an imperfectly perfect day, filled with sufficient blessing to see the unique in everyone, even that slightly off-center person reflected in the mirror.

(pic from The Optimism Revolution)