Imperfection is not a concession; it’s an absolute.

We have to be open to our imperfections as something to paradoxically strive for, not as something to avoid.

To live authentically, we have to unite the positive aspects of ourselves with the allegedly negative parts.

What if I told you that resisting your imperfect uniqueness goes against not only who you are intrinsically, but also goes against the natural order of being human? Sounds strange, right? But it’s not.

For example, the Japanese philosophy called wabi-sabi, the art of paying homage to the elegance of imperfection, instructs us to do a “180” and reexamine our socialized inclination to do things the “right” way. In other words, to always strive for perfection. Perfection is, at best, an abstract, an illusion. However, imperfection is not, because it’s the natural state of all things. Imperfection is not a concession; it’s an absolute.

One of the goals of wabi-sabi is to transform our perception of defectiveness into aspects we can celebrate and seek out. Wabi-sabi is a design for living that is magnificently contradictory. It motivates us to embrace our faulty uniqueness and even draw attention to it. It inspires us to highlight our distinctiveness even when others don’t. The beauty is in the paradox.

The Wisdom of Unquestioned Design

Think about it: The beauty of the natural world is essentially flawed, but we never judge it. It just is. Consequently, looking deeper into nature for illustrations of astounding imperfection helps to create more insight. It becomes a portal of inspiration where we convert criticism into curiosity and wonderment. It dilates our pupils of understanding.

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