“My imperfections and failures are as much a blessing from God as my successes and my talents and I lay them both at his feet.” -Mahatma Gandhi
The other day on a visit to our family doctor, I asked him to remove a couple of small warts that have popped up on my fingers. I don’t think anyone noticed them but me as they were very small. He obliged with a quick freezing treatment of liquid nitrogen and now I have a huge raised black blister that is so awful to look at, not to mention painful, that I have to keep it covered with a Band Aid.
It is easy to get stuck on our imperfections and focus so much energy on eradicating them that without knowing it, we often turn minor issues into problems. Consider the number of businesses that have been built on TV infomercials alone to correct our physical imperfections. As overwhelming as this is for our physical bodies, our preoccupation with our mental and emotional faults can come to dominate a life.
Even just small passing comments can turn us on our head about ourselves. Think of the last time someone made a comment in passing about eating too much dessert and getting fat and suddenly all that is visible are the parts of our body that are too big and round. We get lost in our imperfections. They are the source of revenue for many a multi-million dollar industry built around the continuous fix.
Worse still is how many of our closest relationships fall victim to the same fixed mentality. The small behavioral ticks that make us all unique, loveable and annoying often become the focal point in what is unacceptable and not working in our relationships. We demand change, and are outraged when we the shifts are not forthcoming. How many perfectly workable relationships are lost to the drive to eradicate what is wrong.
Our imperfections of body, mind, soul and relationship define us at least as much and maybe more than our successful attributes. Looking deeper than our imperfections and embracing ourselves, warts and all is one way to walk a positivity quest. Compared to the black lump on my finger, the wart was a small reminder of being imperfectly human.
