{"id":2073,"date":"2013-10-19T06:17:40","date_gmt":"2013-10-19T13:17:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/michellejolin.com\/wordpress\/?p=2073"},"modified":"2013-10-19T00:06:52","modified_gmt":"2013-10-19T07:06:52","slug":"who-needs-perfect","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/michellejolin.com\/?p=2073","title":{"rendered":"Who needs perfect?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0I wanted a perfect ending. Now I’ve learned, the hard way, that some poems don’t rhyme, and some stories don’t have a clear beginning, middle, and end. Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what’s going to happen next.
\nDelicious Ambiguity.<\/p>\n

–Gilda Radner<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

If you look for perfection, you’ll never be content.<\/p>\n

–Leo Tolstoy\/Anna Karenina<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

 <\/p>\n

Perfect? Is there ever such a thing?<\/p>\n

I believe that there are a lot of perfect things. There’s a catch, though–they’re ephemeral, and they sneak up on you. Maybe if they’re so temporary they aren’t truly perfect, or maybe they’re perfect precisely because they don’t last.\u00a0 I prefer to think that there are perfect moments.\u00a0 A lot of them. It’s hard to catch all of them.<\/p>\n

What do I think is perfect?<\/p>\n

Falling in love for the first time. The first warm Spring day. The way the sunlight looks when it streams through Fall leaves. Listening to a baby laughing. Getting into a freshly made bed when you’re exhausted. Drinking a really good cup of coffee while looking out at the ocean. Firelight reflecting off the face of someone you love. Having someone get your obscure book reference and not only laugh, but feed one back to you. When your co-workers tell you they completely failed to maintain your usual high standards of sarcasm while you were on vacation, but they tried because they missed you. Seeing a friend unexpectedly. First kisses. Cold water when you are really thirsty. The way it feels when someone brushes your hair out of their eyes because they want to see you better. The 2 seconds when all the laundry is washed and put away and there are no dirty clothes left. Laughing until your stomach hurts. Getting to the last page of a wonderful book and the ending is exactly right.<\/p>\n

Things that are transcendent. Things that are beautiful. Things that are only fleeting moments. Part of our normal lives. All over the place. Every day.<\/p>\n

Things that are perfect.<\/p>\n

But you have to be looking. Not looking for perfection, but just being open to seeing it when it sneaks by. <\/p>\n

You have to be there.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0I wanted a perfect ending. Now I’ve learned, the hard way, that some poems don’t rhyme, and some stories don’t have a clear beginning, middle, and end. Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what’s going to happen next. Delicious Ambiguity. –Gilda Radner … Continue reading Who needs perfect?<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2073","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-words"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7lr3R-xr","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":9232,"url":"https:\/\/michellejolin.com\/?p=9232","url_meta":{"origin":2073,"position":0},"title":"An imaginary conversation about a first meeting","author":"Michelle","date":"February 6, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"How will I recognize you? You've seen several pictures of me. I'll look like the person in my pictures, and I am wearing black today. You and half the city True. Look for the colorful chest. I thought you were coming straight from work? I am--so? Are you going to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Imaginary Conversation"","block_context":{"text":"Imaginary Conversation","link":"https:\/\/michellejolin.com\/?cat=18"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":9928,"url":"https:\/\/michellejolin.com\/?p=9928","url_meta":{"origin":2073,"position":1},"title":"The perfect start","author":"Michelle","date":"May 8, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Wake up.Look at the clock.Yawn, stretch.Don't think about anything but pulling the covers back over my head.Close eyes.Open them again.Hmm.Maybe.Peek outside.See the sun.Open the blackout curtains.Sing a song to myselfMake coffee.Go back to bed with coffee.Wake up gently.Then it doesn't really matter where the day goes after that.There are infinite\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Random thoughts"","block_context":{"text":"Random thoughts","link":"https:\/\/michellejolin.com\/?cat=20"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3418,"url":"https:\/\/michellejolin.com\/?p=3418","url_meta":{"origin":2073,"position":2},"title":"Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes","author":"Michelle","date":"January 12, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"People. 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But then I was wondering if maybe I could make a list of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Words"","block_context":{"text":"Words","link":"https:\/\/michellejolin.com\/?cat=7"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":395,"url":"https:\/\/michellejolin.com\/?p=395","url_meta":{"origin":2073,"position":4},"title":"The Importance of Being Well Groomed","author":"Michelle","date":"July 21, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"I saw a werewolf drinking a pina colada at Trader Vic's And his hair was perfect. --Warren Zevon \u00a0 It must take a lot of work for\u00a0 werewolves to keep their hair looking perfect. Especially during the full moon, when all they want is to run amok and howl at\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "hmmm"","block_context":{"text":"hmmm","link":"https:\/\/michellejolin.com\/?cat=4"},"img":{"alt_text":"Alcide","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/michellejolin.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/Alcide-225x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":7160,"url":"https:\/\/michellejolin.com\/?p=7160","url_meta":{"origin":2073,"position":5},"title":"I’m (not) bored","author":"Michelle","date":"August 19, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"The other night, my friend Walt posted a link to a mess of inspirational quotes. Since I love to read and argue with inspirational quotes, of course I read them all and did some mental arguing. It was fun. There were a lot of them. 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