The Power of Imperfection

"People throw away what they could have by insisting on perfection . . ."

                        -- Edith Schaeffer

I recently went to a local pizza parlor to pick up a "to-go" pizza. As I waited, I smiled at the artwork of children who had entered the pumpkin contest. I'll admit, my eye was first drawn to the "perfect" pumpkin - but only because it is the very one I would have drawn as a child. Orange, with black triangular eyes, and not a single mark outside of the lines.

But the picture that really made me smile was a yellow pumpkin with red circles all over it. The one called "pepperoni pumpkin." It made me think, "Now, that's creative!"

I recalled my own childhood, when I wanted anything and everything I created to be perfect, whether it was my school work, artwork or writing. Perfection was such a goal that I often tore up anything that did not attain my idea of perfection. In frustration, I believed anything less was garbage.

Fortunately, as I've gotten older I've seen that true creativity is imperfect. If artwork is to be perfect, why not just take a photograph? If writing is to show a reader the human condition, then surely it should not be flawless.

There is beauty in the imperfection of creativity, and it should provoke a variety of thoughts and emotions in its beholder. So, go ahead - color outside of the lines. I've learned (and am still learning,) it makes life a whole lot more interesting.