Perfectly Imperfect

There has been a lot of discussion recently about sun dial which was donated to the Homeward Bound Memorial Garden.

We set the dial in position – but it did not move correctly with the hours of the day. We read up on it a little and set it again. Still no luck. We assumed it was made incorrectly. Not true. We read some more and learned that it can tell time precisely – in its own way.

It definitely requires some extra effort and calculation to understand and make it useful in the way it was intended. It has to be aligned with the axis of the Earth’s rotation and point toward true Celestial north (different from the magnetic north pole.) Of course, the Earth’s orbit about the Sun is not perfectly circular, so the reading is not precise to standard clock time. Adjustments are also needed four days each year, and again for daylight savings time if you want it to deliver a perfect reading.

Perfection, however, is a relative thing.

I’m not particularly concerned about the exact time of day when I am in the garden. The position of the sun and the slowness of my pace tell me when it is time to take a break or retreat. So if the sun dial time is imperfect, it makes no difference to me.

I like this quote:

“Even imperfection itself may have its ideal or perfect state.”
-Thomas de Quincey

Like this bent, but still beautiful and blooming sunflower resting on our garden ground.

It’s the same with the dogs of Homeward Bound Golden Retriever Rescue and Sanctuary. Like Zander, the three-legged wonder recently adopted.

Three legs or four make no difference to his ball-chasing abilities, or his gigantic heart. One lucky family figured out that this was his perfect state. There are more waiting. Rescue. The compassionate (and perfect!) choice.