Grateful for an Imperfect World.

“Did you know teenage smoking is at all time low?”  My ten-year-old daughter announced unexpectedly.

Imagine a tiny tear in a magnificent painting.  Most eyes naturally shift to the defect, bypassing the masterpiece.  We seek perfection.  We wish to mend.

The news, from riots and unruly people to mishaps in The White House, from conniving viruses to surgeries gone awry, from killings in the name of religion to starvation in developing countries, all exploit our tunnel vision.

They show us the tear and hide the canvas!  

The fact is that we live in a wonderful world.  Despite our desire to reminisce about yesteryears, our world is better than that of our parents and grandparents.

The world is imperfect.  We are charged with the task of fixing what remains wrong.   In mending the broken, let’s not shatter the whole.  Dissatisfaction is the engine that pushes us forward, but should not become our personality. 

People act badly and break the law.  But, they are the few, and crime rates have seen huge declines.  People still die young.  But, human life expectancy is at all time high.  Infant mortality is at all time low.  Maternal mortality is at all time low.  Poverty levels in the world are at all time low.  Vaccination for preventable diseases is at all time high.  Access to water and sanitation is at all time high.  Communicable and infectious diseases that used to kill the masses in their thirties are under control.

In an imperfect world, live imperfect people.  We need each other to become perfect.  We must seek out those who complement us and those who complete us.   We join those who strengthen us and those who bring out our best qualities, so that we can fix this imperfect world. 
And all that sounds perfect to me!

This Thanksgiving, let’s take our eyes off the tear, look and see the masterpiece anew, and bask in the glory of the goodness that surrounds us.