Community Reflections: Embracing Imperfection

Our brokenness is also the source of our common humanity, the basis for our shared search for comfort, meaning, and healing. Our shared vulnerability and imperfection nurtures and sustains our capacity for compassion.

Bryan Stevenson

Each day, we offer a Daily Question in our Practice Space to inspire grateful reflection. We appreciate and learn from the joyful, poignant, and vulnerable responses that appear. 

We offer the following selection of responses to one of our recent Daily Questions. We hope these thoughtful reflections provide inspiration for deepening your own grateful living practice.

Given that we are all perfectly imperfect, how might I embrace imperfection?

“For me, it’s lowering the bar on my perfectionism and unrealistic expectations for myself…hopefully leading to a change in how I see and treat others.”
— Lisa Alvarado

“Imperfection is freedom….to be myself and enjoy life on my terms.”
— EJP

“Our imperfections are what make us unique. Self-love teaches us to love ourselves, even our imperfections. How I do this is to try not to be negative and be grateful. Each day is a new fresh start.”
— Michele

“As I reflected on this question, I saw a potter’s wheel. I know the Potter isn’t done forming the mound of clay that I am. Today I’m trusting the process. Yes it’s messy! As the wheels turn what’s not needed in my form splats into yours and vice versa. Our intersectionality may create beauty or chaos. That’s the joy of living!”
— Carla

“To embrace our imperfections in ourselves and in others, accept them with humor, humbleness and gentleness.”
— Cathie

“Ah yes, the critical self. I know him well. I find this quote from Voltaire very helpful. ‘Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good.’”
— Charlie T

“Perfectly imperfect… We are all quirky. Let us love each other and our own selves, ‘warts and all.’ Let us accept and celebrate the things that make us all different. Let us see the challenges that have shaped us uniquely as points of compassion.”
— Holly in Ohio

“Just do my ‘perfectly imperfect’ best one day at a time! Paradox — always a sign of a deeper truth.”
— Carol

“Yes we are all imperfect but that’s what makes us unique from each other. Variety is the spice of life. Yes, self improvement and setting goals are important but this takes me back in time to the first time as a freshman I reported to football training camp at university. The head coach’s welcoming speech talked about the fact that ‘we can’t all be jet pilots, doctors, or engineers so not all of us can be on this team’s player list.’”
— Defy

“My church community week by week proclaims ‘All of you is welcome here,’ so I never forget that with all my imperfections I am — we are all — welcomed and loved.”
— Elaine

“Stop judging myself and others. One person’s perfection is not the same as another’s.”
— Rabbit

“Ok – this took about a day to process, but never mind… Radical acceptance – of self, others, life, and ‘the way things are’ – in the moment, step by step, breath by breath, day by day. With a little help from my friends, and the Great Mystery. Practice. Practice. Practice. A definite work in progress…”
— KC

Photo by Raimond Klavins