Beauty in imperfection

I was in a meeting that dragged on and on today, one of those just-in-case meetings where you show up to ensure that no one commits your team to something stupid. Suffice to say, I was bored out of my skull while the two loudest participants locked horns once more, like they do in every meeting they attend together.

There were square wooden coasters on the table which I was fiddling with. I quickly exhausted the number of interesting shapes that I could form with just the two. The stack of other coasters was just out of reach, and I didn't want to draw attention to myself lest I get sucked into the increasingly loud discussion-turned-heated-argument that the two were engaged in. So, I started forming shapes with the two coasters I had plus a third imaginary identically square coaster. I managed to form quite a few shapes and was suitably entertained until we got kicked out of the room by another meeting.

Near the end, I came to the startling realization that I had a lot of fun playing with that third imaginary coaster. Having real coasters can be fun too, except that with an imaginary coaster, you can't just push them together and see what shape they are - you also have to imagine what it would look like with that imaginary coaster, whether it'll fit, how it'll fit, all in 3D.

Throughout most of my life, I have been a perfectionist, regularly falling into the trap of not completing tasks simply because I didn't think I could a good enough, i.e. "perfect" job of it. This, fortunately, *didn't* extend to work-related matters - it would have been very harmful to my career had I failed to complete projects. No, this was just in personal projects, where everything had to be as close to perfect as possible or it didn't get done.

Today, I was fortunate enough to see beauty and wonder in imperfection. Had I stuck with my original perfectionist attitude, I'd have put away the coasters once the initial combinations were explored. Instead, I proceeded today despite the imperfections. I've done so many times when driven by necessity and deadlines - the difference was that today, I did it for a trivial amusement, which is something I've never been relaxed enough to do.

So, why am I gushing about something as simple as this? Well, let's just say that I glimpsed a hitherto-unexplored possibility where imperfect things can be more beautiful and elegant and fun than perfect things, which runs contrary to one of my core assumptions/beliefs (but not a core value per se). I guess I'm really breaking out of my shell now, as I am valuing fun and possibilities over perfection and for those of you who really know me, this is a major change and a step towards being more human.

Life is definitely getting more interesting!