Fingernails and Toenails

Imperfections make life beautiful.

Yesterday, I lifted a large box without being quite careful enough. One of my fingernails got torn. It wasn’t a big deal.

This morning, the torn nail got caught in some fabric and ripped apart a bit more. So, I grabbed a fingernail clipper and clipped the nail as close to the skin as I could.

I didn’t get all of the torn nail off. I won’t be able to do that until it grows out more.

There are so many examples. Hangnails, pimples, bruises, scars, eyebrow hairs that grow out at strange angles, not to mention hairs that have started sprouting from my ears! My sense of taste and my sense of smell have changed. My eyesight has declined. Some of these changes come with getting older, but imperfections exist at all times in our lives.

It’s all of our imperfections that make us who we are.

And it’s not just physical imperfections. My memory and cognitive abilities are not what they once were.

My beliefs and feelings have grown strong (hopefully not calcified) from the specific experiences that have shaped my life. Who is to say these experiences are any better or worse than what others have experienced?

Life is beautiful. In many ways, it’s beautiful because of our imperfections.

I try to keep things organized. I try to limit the chaos I welcome into our lives. Yet, a little chaos is nothing more than the accumulation of imperfections.

When I clipped my torn fingernail, an old thought returned. How did our ancestors get by without fingernail clippers and toenail clippers? How much more imperfect were their fingernail and toenails than ours?

I’m not the only one to wonder about such things. Here is a sample of responses to the question.

The amazing thing is that imperfections are cooked into our DNA. Imperfections are what allow for the genetic differences between us. Most imperfect mutations don’t help us to survive, but some get passed down from one generation to the next.

And this is all part of the miracle of what it means to be alive!