Perfectly Imperfect

I recently received the proofs for a photo shoot I did for a forthcoming book.

How many of the poses looked perfect?

Uhh, none.

How many were completely and undeniably perfect?

Well, all of them.

The truth is, I’ll never do a perfect asana.

Yet, from the perspective of the truth, how could my postures be anything but pure perfection?

Just as I was mulling this over (because its something I’ve been thinking about for only, say, 25 years now), I read this, sent to me by a wise student who had also been contemplating these questions:

You are neither good enough nor not good enough. An apple seed is neither good enough nor not good enough, it simply is in the process of becoming an apple, and then falling from its tree, and then transforming yet again to become food for the earth and maybe even the tree itself. And yet, we could never say of a seed that it is not whole because it is not yet an apple, nor could we call a rotting apple imperfect. It just wouldn't make sense. And so you are always in the process of becoming, and yet always perfect.
 
Perfectly said, isn't it?