The Art of Imperfection
佚名 / Anonymous
Though we all agree that to err is human, each of us believes that she is the exception. We’re supposed to be perfect (We were also supposed to be rich and famous.).
But learning from our mistakes—and accepting our plain—old averageness—is an art. So next time you break a plate or lose your keys, why not take it in stride? Consider the possibility that there is a hidden pattern behind the mistakes in your life.
1. The art of being neither rich nor famous
In order to be perceived as special and different, celebrities today strive to shun the limelight and become average folks. (Admit it: Don’t you love knowing that Sharon Stone shops at the Gap?) But regardless of how much money they have in the bank, or how much of a buzz they create when they show up at a club or charity ball, famous folks will never be able to enjoy the life you and I cherish. Small, reassuring pleasures are off-limits to them. You never see them borrowing books from the library, lingering in a coffee shop or window shopping on Main Street.
One of the saddest things about acquiring fame and fortune is that once you realize you have plenty, you may want plenty more. Often, life is no longer as good as it gets. You never say, “Enough already”.
The only difference between a wise man and a fool is that the wise man knows he is a fool. In the same way, the only difference between an extraordinary life and an ordinary one is the extraordinary pleasures you find in ordinary things.
2. Be foolish in public
Honest and gullible, trusting yet reckless, playful but insecure: These are what it takes to be silly. It is usually the result of a combination of our sterling qualities and our quirky personality traits. We are truer to ourselves when we stop making sense. Unlike stand-up comics who set out to be funnyand get heckled if they are not silly people become lovable simply by embracing the role of the other guy, the character who bumps into walls and shows up at parties with socks that don’t match.
So next time you are caught talking to yourself in an elevator, don’t apologize. The silent gratitude you generate when you reveal your most vulnerable side to others is well worth the temporary blush.
Flaunting your flaws, not your cleverness, is what will make you popular with your friends.
3. Find meaning in your mistakes
In art and architecture, what appears to be a goof is often a deliberate signal meant to draw attention to a particular aspect of the work. In Islamic art, for instance, small flaws abound in what look like the most luxurious carpets, pottery and mosaics. Artists are urged to purposely make mistakes to remind admiring observers that God alone is perfection.
In music, notes that deviate from an established pattern are often used to create emotional tension. In the “Funeral March” of his Third Symphony, Beethoven replaced sounds with silences to express the mounting sense of sorrow in the piece. In literature, James Joyce was the champion of the intentional error. For Joyce, mistakes were “portals of discovery.” In Ulys in particular, typos, misspellings and absence of punctuation add to the insightfulness of his prose.
Take a moment to wonder at the uniqueness of the mistakes you are about to make.
4. Ask for help
We all need to be reminded from time to time that we probably don’t have what it takes to solve all the problems of the world. But we are wonderfully equipped to marvel at its existence. To this end, we must get rid of the idea that we are indispensable.