It’s Not About the Perfect Canvas; It’s About the Beauty Applied.

Photo Credit: saebaryo/Creative Commons

I don’t know about you, but I’m more than a little tired of society’s perception of “perfect.”

“Perfect” creates a false sense of security. It tweaks. It hones. It airbrushes the very life out of what’s already beautiful. Instead of seeing the canvas painted and lovely, “perfect” tramps on beauty and nudges her out of the way and isn’t even polite about it.

Yes, there are some things that require meticulous precision. Brain surgery. Flying a plane. Snowboarding. Chopping an onion.

But what about other things? Like for instance–our genetic make-up–the God-created art that makes me me and you you?

So many folks are sucked into the notion that to be perfect–and thus, loveable–they must first do this, be that, and look, act, and model the perceived vision of “ideal.”

Recently, during one of our family’s carpet picnic and movie nights, we watched Titanic. (The 90’s version.) Of course, we had to mute some of the language and fast-forward through a few unnecessary scenes, but I digress.

In Titanic, Kate Winslet’s character–Rose–comes from the cream-of-the-crop society. She’s the picture-perfect opposite of Jack–a dirt-poor artist from the wrong side of the tracks played by Leonardo DiCaprio. In this fictional tale centered around a tragic, real-life event, it doesn’t take long to realize that perfection is just a fallacy. From Rose’s seemingly charmed life and her flawless appearance to the massive ocean liner deemed “unsinkable,” we’re only too aware that all isn’t what it seems. It’s only a matter of time before something terrible happens.

You know how the story goes. Beautiful, perfect Rose is engaged to a wealthy, ego-driven blowhard and she is far from “happy.” Rose and poor, imperfect Jack become smitten with each other and commit to being together. The Titanic hits an iceberg, sinks, and the lovesick couple eventually goes down with the ship. *Spoiler alert* Rose survives. Jack doesn’t.

What’s great about the ending is this: as the camera pans over photographs of key points in Rose’s life, we see all of her achievements–things she and Jack talked about doing together. Things she went on to do anyway without him because of her promise to “never let go.” In other words, Rose ditched “perfect” for beauty. She never returned to her previous, pampered lifestyle, but instead, lived fully, happily, and without regret.

Rose and Jack’s story is fiction, but I’m of their mindset. Perfectionism is overrated and so are our pristine bubbles. We’re to grab life by the horns, embrace it, and spread the love.

We don’t have to live in the stark, cold shadow of perfect. We have a choice. We’re a blank canvas. We can choose our own colors and paint our own “beautiful.”

And prayerfully, our painting will mirror what God intended: a life made richer by His artistic hand.

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Have you ever struggled with perfectionism?

In what ways do you guard against this?

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Photo Credit: saebaryo/Creative Commons

See you next Wednesday!

Happy Friday and Blessings Always,