My belief is one that when you first hear it doesn’t make sense; but when you read it feel, it see it, even taste it, you understand. I learned my belief from when I was just a small child, but it has grown and sprouted new seeds deep within my soul.
I believe in imperfection.
This belief all started when I was a small child of about five or six years of age. One day I said to my mother “It’s not fair, I can’t run as fast as Jessie!” My mother simply replied, “Well, Katie, no one is perfect.” I simply accepted that simple truth; no one is perfect. Although I knew this, I never thought of it again. It sat idly in the back of my mind, like a toy that a child forgot about after the first day of playing with it.
My mind reopened to this idea while in my English class. We were reading “The Giver” by Lois Lowry. It is a story of a boy who lives in a utopian society where everything is perfect. Soon he begins to wonder if this “perfection” really is what it is made up to be. While reflecting upon the book, the question, “Would you want to live in a perfect world?” arose. Everyone in the class responded “no” including me. When asked why they responded that way, everyone said “Well, even though they say it is perfect, it isn’t.” But I replied differently when asked why I said no to living in a perfect world; I replied, “I believe that imperfection is perfection. I believe that the world is perfect the way it is.” After hearing this, some of the people near me said, “well what about wars and killing! That isn’t the way the world should be!” In response, I simply said, “well, although war and murder of innocent people is a terrible crime, I still think that without hate, then what is love?”
Since then, my belief has strengthened. For example, every time I am overtaken with jealousy, I pull my dusty belief from the back of my mind and make it new again; imperfection is perfection. It’s like Buddha says:
“When you realize how perfect everything is you will tilt your head back and laugh at the sky.”
Belief is like a seed; when planted it is very small, but it soon grows into a beautiful tree. Soon the tree grows limbs and stretches out to others. Finally, it sprouts seeds to spread new beliefs around the world. For example, as I said earlier, “Without hate, then what is love?” This statement sprouts a new belief, a belief in balance; that we depend on the balance of the world to survive.
I believe that the world is imperfect, but perfect the way it is. We can try to change it all we want, but in the end, you can’t stop wars from occurring, you can’t stop people from hating, but you can keep love in your heart, and hope in your soul.
Writing this essay was easy; I just spoke from my heart. It wasn’t my mouth or my fingers typing the words onto a piece of digital paper, it was my heart; spilling out my feelings. Although this may be hard for some people, talking from my heart is easy for me. I don’t know why, but it has come easy for me only in the last few months. Before this time in my life, showing my feelings had been hard for me, but now, it comes like second nature. I really enjoyed writing this essay, and I thank all of you for giving me this wonderful opportunity, and Mrs. Baker for requiring me to read and reflect upon “The Giver” in English class.
I am a fourteen year old girl, living in park city, Utah. My name is Katie Kobara Sanbonmatsu. The life I have lived has always been one of simplicity and comfort. It is difficult for me to understand the sufferings of other people, but I try my best to care and love others. I don’t play any sports, but in my free time, I like to take short walks, and especially go to yoga with my mom. I think that yoga was another thing that strengthened my belief in imperfection, as well has helping me find who I am.