The Ecstasy of the Imperfect

Recently I was inspired, in several ways, by a post from Atefwepwawet on the importance of acting despite imperfect knowledge. Please go read it, it’s phenomenal. With their permission, I’m responding and expounding here.

So. Knowledge vs practice. It’s a complicated and complimentary duality, ideally with one leading to the other.  Both require each other to be truly complete. And neither is ever done, both are always expanding, growing, changing.

But what I really want to talk about today is knowledge.

And how for us it is Always,

Necessarily,

Incomplete and imperfect.

We are, by our very nature, limited beings. We are limited in our perceptions, our experiences. We are limited by language and culture and physics and biology. To know the complete history and physical make up of a single blade of grass in your yard would be beyond the capacity of a human mind. And the history and physical make up of a thing is only a tiny fraction of that thing. That doesn’t dive into its relationship with the world around it, how it is or could be perceived by others, its own spirit and internal world. There is simply too much to know.

This is not an uncommon thought. This idea of perfect knowledge has fascinated and stumped philosophers and writers and laypeople the world over. I am likely only repeating to you things you have already heard in different words.

This knowledge used to fill me with such dread. Sometimes it still does. Between the, very legitimate, fear of screwing things up and causing harm because of things I don’t know and a kind of…cosmic FOMO (fear of missing out), it was a thing I worried about to one degree or another nearly every day. Please do not feel that I am preaching from a place of ignorance on the legitimate fear and despair and just general worry that can come from this. Life is very real, and there can be very real consequences to not knowing, whether that leads to action or inaction.

But with all of that said, may I suggest a slightly different approach.

Embrace it.

We will NEVER be perfect.

How…

WONDERFUL.

There is such joy in learning and growing. Let us embrace it. Let us revel in the unknown. In the discovery. In fucking up and trying again. And again. And again. How much more beautiful is it that we try despite the risk of failure. That we leap despite not knowing what awaits us if we fall. Let us bask in the ecstasy of our imperfections and the chance to try again.

We will never be perfect! We will NEVER know enough! So we may as well try while we can! With these few years given to us, we may as well live!

Now.

I am NOT saying to be thoughtless, or to act with no knowledge. It is good to be wise. Do your due diligence. Ask questions. Read. Seek out experts and teachers. That is part of reveling in imperfections, is seeking out that which we do not know. There can and often are consequences for acting without knowledge. This is unavoidable. Do what is within your power to mitigate. To know the risks.

But then,

DO.

And the final secret: doing leads to just another kind of knowing, and with that further knowledge you can do more. They are not separate. They are a cycle that feed each other. Two sides of the same coin, as it were.