I love New Year's Day - it's a day full of hope for all the ways in which we can make this year a better year. ;-)
One of the things that I've been thinking a lot about lately is the idea of perfection. We know what perfection is, and yet nature is full of imperfection. The earth is not perfectly round, the moon is not perfectly bright, even leaves and snowflakes are not always perfectly symmetrical, and yet humans try so hard to achieve perfection. Sure, we can make machines and cubes and chemicals that are perfect in some way, but what nature tells us is that there is so much beauty to be found in imperfections. It is the imperfections and differences that create variety and surprise in our lives- that create fascination. If everything were perfect, the world would be so boring! So this year, rather than trying to be more perfect in some way, recognize that perfection is an illusion created by the human mind and that your natural imperfections are what make you unique and valuable to everyone around you. (Click an image to begin downloading the photo for your desktop!)
SOoooooooooooo true. I find it so depressing to see the beautiful girls we shoot, whether it be their wedding, or their Christmas Cards or headshots or whatever, they are so hard on themselves. They only see the imperfections which they hate but I find wonderful and sets them apart. It bothers me in a couple of ways. They have no idea how beautiful they are and they are headed for real disaster as they age, if they are complaining at the peak of their lives. When the elasticity disappears and gravity takes hold and the hair turns wiry and gray, they will long forget or be upset that they hate their tooth that turns in or that chin is too long or that their nose has a slight bump in it. I wish I could convince them to embrace and accept the things that make them who they are because they certainly will look back and say wow what was I so uptight about?? I looked pretty good back then!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the perspective, Anne. It reminds me to relax into being more and more myself, and encourage others to do the same.
ReplyDeleteWow... you caught a beautiful snowflake! it's beeeaautiful!
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