Imperfection

A friend shared a disappointment recently, which caused her to question the good she contributes to because the results have occasionally been imperfect. Sometimes, in trying to do too much, we end up doing too little. Now and then, that causes us to fail.

Like an over planted garden. We want to save them all, but the soil can only accommodate so many.

Hard choices sometimes have to be made. But in the end, they’ll stand stronger, taller and more brilliant if attention is focused on what can truly be supported well.

Of course, gardens are not living creatures. But a rare failure, however heartbreaking, should not cause us to question all.

“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.”
― Winston Churchill

Mistakes will happen. Perfection is never achieved.

“Use what talent you possess: the woods would be very silent if no birds sang except those that sang best.” ~Author unknown

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.

Tag: Imperfection

Perfectly Imperfect