Imperfection in Humanity

It could be said that imperfection is the trait that causes us to be human. After all where can humanity be seen in a row of identically dressed soldiers marching in step to someone else's tune? A soldier's humanity is apparent when he's crying and streaked with the blood of an injured child he's just lifted up from the ground or when his clothes are torn, his hands shake from fear and he feels like running away yet refuses to.

If we were all perfect when we entered this world there'd be no character building struggles, mountains to climb or achievements to reach for; what would we do? There'd be nothing to fight for if we began life exactly as we're going to exit it. The thing that causes us to be considered courageous, strong and wise is that we've wrestled with our imperfections and through it have become more admirable people.

Someone once said that a wise man learns from the mistakes of others but a fool learns from his own. I may be a fool but I question this because the lessons I've learned from my own mistakes are very deeply etched in my consciousness and I'm highly unlikely to make them again because I've been severely burnt by them! If I've learned from the mistakes of someone else my determination to avoid them won't be as strong.

Being imperfect and making many, many mistakes has caused me to be me exactly as I am today. I assume that otherwise I'd be a mediocre type of person without much of interest to say. My life's journey thus far would've been bland in comparison to the wild ride along the rocky, winding, twisted route I've battled my way through. I appreciate life so much because I've treated my imperfections as challenges and I thrive on a challenge!

Paintings show us that imperfections can be the very brush strokes that cause a painting to be unique and distinctive. Who would ever become a musician if all of us could play immaculately without effort? How could someone ever be considered beautiful without us ordinary looking mortals? Beauty would be invisible if we were all aesthetically pleasing.

Imperfections cause us humans to be highly interesting, unique and well, likable! Nobody likes a person who assumes that they know everything because they're disinterested in our opinions. I think that we should appreciate our imperfections and take the time we're given in this life to hone and overcome them so that we can stand tall and know we've achieved great things in ourselves!