I recently found and fell in the love with the blog
Sous Style, which includes in its manifesto a resolution to strive for "the imperfect perfect". I love this notion. Perfection is not only illusory and unattainable, the quest for it is a lead cause of insomnia, stomachaches and driving everyone around you up a wall (in my opinion/experience). And yet, there's something important and energizing about the quest for self-improvement and the notion that if we try hard enough, we can achieve truly great things. To accept that perfection is a myth seems like an invitation to throw in the towel and stop trying, which is why I love this whole "imperfect perfect" thing. To me it says that you can be all kinds of fabulous, marvelous, organized, stylish, healthy and generally exceptional, while still shining love down on your inner dork/slob/glutton, and letting her live in peace and harmony with that more shiny, capable you. To me, 2012 is all about embracing this yin and yang, and seriously letting myself off the hook, while simultaneously challenging myself to grow and do better. I truly believe these goals can co-exist in an imperfect perfect world.
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| What embodies foodie perfection more than a dinner to celebrate 40 years of Chez Panisse? To me, the wrinkled linen table cloths and wilty flowers from the tables at that dinner scream imperfect perfect. Are they not just as beautiful and a thousand times more earthily appealing than something starched, pert and formal could ever be? |
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Gorgeous messy up-do= imperfect perfect.
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Kids' art just taped imperfectly/perfectly to the wall in an otherwise very polished kitchen. |
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I am going to start a new series on the imperfect perfect, ruminating on everything from mom bodies to meal attempts/failures to adventures in discount decorating, to whatever else crosses my path and inspires me in this way. I love the idea of seeking out the sloppy sublime.
What is imperfect perfect in your world?
I love the idea of piling on the kids' art on the wall! May have to try that - would be a good, lazymom excuse to cover up the fugly orange in my kitchen/dining room area. ;)
ReplyDeleteThank you thank you. With this blog in mind, I'm going to embrace my what used to be bad habit of procrastination and turn it into my love of procrastination. It all gets done anyway. Since it is never perfect anyway being imperfect later is as good as being imperfect now. What makes it perfect is not worrying about it or letting what's waiting (b/c something is always waiting) ruin the now. SMJ you are brilliant.
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