Imperfection

For a long time, I conformed to the conventional perspective of determining a romantic partner— concocting absurd requirements and exactifying the specific traits that one should possess, drawing countless arbitrary boundaries and assigning red flags to any undesirable action, and obsessing over the circumstances that build up into any form of relationship.

But knowing what I know now about human nature and the human condition, could I be so oblivious to blithely approach any human interaction, romantic or platonic, expecting the other person to be perfect in any conceivable way? To be without flaw nor fault in character? To be without scar nor blemish? To be without trauma nor vice?

In the same way that suffering is an indispensable component of a fulfilling life, imperfection is an indispensable component of a fulfilling relationship. It is what gives it color and shape, a mission and a meaning, and ultimately a story to be told.