'Perfectly Imperfect'
- nicole
- May 15
- 2 min read
Updated: May 16
So, Christmas of 2016, it seemed that things were just 'off'. Cookies didn't turn out. Lights were flickering. The Christmas tree actually fell over in the living room.
We jokingly said the holiday was "perfectly imperfect". Honoring the fact that nothing always goes as planned all of the time.
And, ironically enough, that was the New Years my sister was killed in a car accident.
It was like the universe was preparing us for the worst; bits at a time, until life came crashing down.....I'll hold that blog for another time.....💗
But, this last week, while we were at the beach, this phrase came back to me while spending time collecting shells along the shoreline.
Some were smooth and whole, shaped perfectly by the ocean. Others were worn, chipped, faded, or cracked in places from years of being tossed by the waves.
At one point, my husband picked up a shell with a noticeable chip in it and was about to throw it back.
And without even thinking, I said:
“No, why would you toss that down… it’s perfect. Perfectly imperfect.”
Later, I kept thinking about that moment.
How often do we do the exact opposite with ourselves?
We notice the worn places first. The cracks. The things we wish were different.
We carry so much pressure to hold everything together, to look 'good', hide the belly that the years may have brought on, stand taller, to be productive, to keep up. And somewhere along the way, many of us quietly begin believing that unless we are whole, polished, or “fixed,” we are somehow less valuable.
But the truth is…
The shell was still beautiful.
It's chip didn’t take away its worth. If anything, it told part of its story.
And maybe we’re not so different.
As humans, we all carry marks from life: loss, heartbreak, stress, disappointment, change, disease, grief, fear, survival.
None of us. None. Of. Us. I want to emphasize this. None of us move through life untouched by the waves. Let that sink in.
And yet we spend so much energy trying to hide the very things that make us human.
What if our imperfections are not proof that we are broken?
What if they are evidence that we have lived, adapted, endured, and continued on?🥹
There is something deeply healing about letting go of the idea that we have to become perfect before we are worthy of rest, love, joy, or healing.
Because maybe healing isn’t about becoming flawless.
Maybe it’s about learning to see ourselves with more compassion.
The chipped places. The tired places. The tender places.
All still worthy. All still beautiful.
Perfectly imperfect.
Food For Thought:
Maybe the parts of yourself you’ve been trying hardest to hide are the very parts that deserve the most compassion.
What if you stopped seeing yourself as broken and not enough… and started seeing yourself as human? You are perfect; perfectly imperfect. 🐚
Comments