Absent Perfection — The Sandbox Writing Challenge 8

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blogging101, Creative Writing, Journaling, Quotes, Sandbox Writing Challenge, Writing 101, Writing Prompts

I have SO enjoyed reading the responses to this week’s Sandbox Writing Challenge:  What is your idea of perfection?  I’m feeling positively enlightened!

I didn’t think for one minute when I read that prompt from the book that there was such a thing as perfection. And yet I found myself speculating about it simply because I felt I knew what perfection was NOT! How can one know what perfection is not if they don’t know what it is? Does that make any sense?

It’s sort of like how you can tell a lot about something from the absence of it. I once saw a beautiful portrait of no one at an art gallery in Salt Lake. It has stayed with me ever since. The name of it was Absent Portrait. In the picture there was a white-washed wooden slat chair set in front of an open window with gingham curtains billowing in the breeze. On the chair was a book with wildflowers lying on it. A white linen dress with eyelet lace and a pair of silky hosiery were draped over the back of the chair. On one of the knobs on the chair back was a straw summer hat ringed with a wide pink satin ribbon. On the floor next to the chair was a pair of black, high-topped, button boots.

That’s it. The painting was beautifully done, but the implication was that the person who was supposed to be painted hadn’t shown up for the picture. Even so, I could tell a lot about that person. To begin with, it was a she. I would have said she was well off financially because of the linen and lace dress which screamed Southern Belle. The fine leather shoes dated the portrait, as did the straw hat, which also spoke of the season. I could also assume she loved flowers. Not just ANY flowers, but WILDFLOWERS! That made her feel somewhat adventurous to me as did the title of the book which was in plain view: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

So even though I had no idea what this (likely) young woman or girl looked like, I felt I knew a lot about her. Just like I feel I know a lot about imperfection. Which still leaves me in the dark about perfection. My analogy obviously broke down.

After thinking about it for the last 24 hours or so I finally came up with two things I think are perfect: sunset and sunrise. With each new sunset we know our world has survived another day of abuse. With each new sunrise we know we have a chance to start again. So as long as there are sunsets and sunrises, I believe our beautiful planet (despite it’s many scars) is still functioning as perfectly as it did when God set it in motion. May it always be perfectly so.

 

(Picture Credit: sun’s trajectory — www.worldaccordingtomaggie.com; quote — www.truthfollower.com)