What matters more? Loving someone and accepting their imperfections or loving someone and appreciating their flaws?

Humans are imperfect. We make mistakes. Some of us can’t spell for sh*t and others would soon jump off a bridge before making a homemade meal. Point is, there’s beauty in everyone and if you’re constantly holding out for that perfect lemon meringue or an error-free spell-check, you just might miss that.

I recently found myself in a conversation with an adult (single parent, recent empty-nester) who admitted that they now feel guilty for not loving and appreciating everything their children did well while growing up. Instead, they dwelled on what their children couldn’t accomplish and harbored frustration around something that was unchangeable. They held onto thoughts that there were kids out there faster, smarter, and stronger than their own when they could have been thinking, “Good job on that paper” or “You’ll get ‘em next time!” Not everyone can be the next Steve Prefontaine or Bill Nye but hey, c’mon, we all have value and something to share with the world, don’t we?

I’ve seen too many times, people who write off others for their quirky ways, annoying habits, or minor shortcomings. They fail to see the good because they are too preoccupied with the “bad.” And what is “bad” anyways? Anything opposite of ourselves?

Let’s be honest – anything that skews beyond “normal” is given a weary eye. As “choisters” we have the option to accept imperfections and realize they’re a major factor in the coding of every individual we’re surrounded by. I mean, can you really fault people for being, well…themselves?

Photo Courtesy: Google Images

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