But it’s not Perfect

Written by Mike Ross
Sunflower 6-12-19
Sunflower 6-12-19

I stopped at an Amish flower stand to check out the sunflowers I saw last week and an old woman on a bicycle rode up and said hello. I mentioned how big they got and she told me that she didn’t plant them, it was the birds.

When I asked her if any were flowering she told me there was one on the end of the row but something was wrong with it, it wasn’t perfect. I walked over with the curiosity of Schrödinger’s cat and wondered what she meant.

As soon as I saw it I knew that it was absolutely perfect! The leaves protecting the flower were growing at an odd angle but it was very healthy and probably happy to have someone care so much about it.

I took a few photos as the clouds burned off into bright sunshine, the kind of bright that makes color photos of flowers look washed out, so I knew I would end up converting this to black and white. I thanked the woman and told her she made my day.

“Do you think it will be OK?” she asked me before I left. I was a bit surprised at the question but I figured she was used to dealing with two headed calves and vegetables that grow to look like genitals, the Amish hate when that happens. I assured her the flower would be fine.

The Buddha said: “Aim for success, not perfection. Never give up because you will lose the ability to learn new things. Move forward with your life.” I didn’t tell her that because she was close to 80 and I’m sure she has life pretty much figured out by now.

49 thoughts on “But it’s not Perfect”

        1. Thank you, if I feel I have a good image I work on the post title and story in my head while driving around. Sometimes I’m too tired from editing hundreds of files and just use a quotation.

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  5. Nothing is ever ‘perfect’, especially in nature.

    When something does appear perfect, then our expectations often arise as to a new sense of perfection we want to achieve.

    If we accept life as it is, we are always happy and content.

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    1. Its been said that everything is perfect because it is what is. As for accepting what is I don’t necessarily think its a guarantee of happiness and contentment. And there is no always anything, you know that as well as anyone Vicki.

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              1. Thank you Mike! The photos used with each poem are stock. The only pics of mine are iPhone photos in the section Eyes Wide Open. Just fun stuff that would catch my eye when I was out running/waling. I haven’t taken any in a while. I must get back into it and start sharing again. It’s amazing what you see when you bother to look! 🙂

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