Day 2606: Imperfect

Nine hundred and twenty-four imperfect days ago (but what imperfect person is counting?)*, I imperfectly published an imperfect blog post titled Day 1682: Imperfections.

It’s time for another imperfect blog post, inspired by this imperfect photo from yesterday:

I’m wondering if anybody is going to ask me for more information about that Imperfect van. My imperfect response is this: “I know as much as you know.”

It may be imperfect not to know, but I’m glad we can all be imperfect together.

Here are some imperfect quotes:

“Have no fear of perfection.  You’ll never reach it.” — Salvador Dali

“To banish imperfection is to destroy expression, to check exertion, to paralyze vitality.” — John Ruskin

“One of the basic rules of the universe is that nothing is perfect. Perfection simply doesn’t exist …Without imperfection neither you nor I would exist.” — Stephen Hawking

“Imperfections are not inadequacies; they are reminders that we are all in this together.” — Brené Brown

“If we keep being fair despite the injustices against us, in the end life will reward us, I believe. The world isn’t fair, because it’s imperfect. Right and wrong coexist.  But we should stick to morality to make the world become better.” — Maria Karvouni

“Practice doesn’t make perfect.  Practice reduces the imperfection.” — Toba Beta

“Practice does not make perfect.  Imperfect makes us practice.” — Mokokoma Mokhonoana

“The more I feel imperfect, the more I feel alive.” — Jhumpa Lahiri

“Laughing at one’s imperfections is the best way to cure them …Let us live foolishly, mistakenly, imperfectly, and be content. ” — Marty Rubin

“I believe that the measure of my soul is my ability to love imperfect people.” — Joseph Grenny

“Delight in the pursuit, surrender to imperfection, and marvel at the wonder — as you observe what is.” — Julianne O’Connor

Here are the other imperfect images I imperfectly captured yesterday:

To me, the world seems considerably more imperfect because of the passing of  jazz keyboardist Lyle Mays.  Here‘s a wordless tribute Jacob Collier posted on YouTube two days after Lyle’s death:

If you leave an imperfect comment below, I will respond with an imperfect reply.

Imperfect thanks to all who help me create these imperfect posts, every day.

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* After I published this post, I noticed that I had imperfectly calculated today’s numbers. I corrected those imperfections; the ones that remain are just less obvious.

Day 214: (Small) Talk About The Weather

When I was younger, I used to think that talking about the weather was “small talk.” When people talked about the weather, I thought they were avoiding talking about something important. I had some judgment about small talk, assuming that it was the avoidance of a deeper, more authentic communication or connection.

There have been times when I’ve said, “I don’t like small talk.” And   “I’m not good at small talk.”

Lately, I’ve been wondering if there is such a thing as small talk.

The more therapy groups I do and the more I really listen to people with an open mind and heart, the more I hear in every statement.

Right now, on the morning of my last work day before my two-week vacation, as I listen to the rain outside my window, here are some random thoughts about “talking about the weather.”

• Weather is often a metaphor for how people feel.
• Weather really affects how people feel.
• When I studied English Literature in college, I remember learning about “pathetic fallacy”, which is defined here as ” a literary term for the attributing of human emotion and conduct to all aspects within nature. It is a kind of personification that is found in poetic writing when, for example, clouds seem sullen, when leaves dance, when dogs laugh, or when rocks seem indifferent.”
• The weather is something that a lot of experts have been talking about lately, with different amounts of concern and fear about the future.
• When I talk to people about their emotions (especially disowned or otherwise negatively judged emotions such as anger or sadness), I use the metaphor of allowing emotions to pass through naturally, “like the weather.”*
• I have had moments of worry about what the weather will be when I travel to England and Scotland next week, because people have been telling me that area of the world has been “unseasonably warm.”

Here’s what I’m thinking, right now, as I’m readying to wrap up this post, so I can go into work and wrap up some things before leaving on vacation:

It helped me to write this post, as always.

However, I think I might have written about some — if not most — of these things in previous posts.

And I’ll name this: I do have a fear of repeating myself.  I guess I fear that repeating myself will make what I am saying seem … what?   Less believable? Less important?

Sort of like small talk.

Which, as I hope I’ve demonstrated for your reading pleasure and satisfaction today, does not exist.

And even if “less important” communications do exist,  just wait.  They will pass through —  just like the weather — soon to be replaced by the next big thing.

Let’s see if I can find a photo I’ve taken this year, to illustrate this post …

That’s a photo I took, a few months ago, when I did my last (small) bit of traveling. (Knowing me, I probably had some moments of worry about the weather for that trip, too.)

Okay!  Thanks for reading everything small, or big, I wrote today.

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*  Thanks to my friend Carol and her friend Eric for talkin’ ’bout this metaphor.