If We Expect Perfection…

“If one by one we counted people out For the least fault,” wrote Robert Frost, “it wouldn’t take us long to get so we had no one left to live with.” We may well think of this for a moment. If we demand perfection in those with whom we associate, we will have no one to live with — not even ourselves. There are days when others deeply disappoint us. We see flaws and failings in high places, as well as in people of ordinary pursuits; and we could become cynical. But why should we expect flawless performance in other people when we know that we are not all that others expect of us? Our judgment is not infallible. Our impulses are not always all they ought to be. All of us need understanding; all of us need explaining. Sometimes we hear that someone has said things about us that were unkind or cutting, and we are hurt, and then honestly have to ask ourselves if we don’t sometimes say what would be disappointing to others — things we wouldn’t be proud to have repeated. Yet with all the human imperfections and perversity, our lives are enriched by the work, and the companionship of others, and by the kindness and consideration that come to us on many occasions — especially in our time of need, when people show the better side of themselves. In the home, in marriage, in school, at work, there would be less disillusionment, less friction, more patience, more understanding, more forgiving and more forgetting if we didn’t expect perfection in others — especially since we must admit that no one finds perfection in us. We are living in an imperfect world of imperfect people. “If one by one we counted people out For the least fault, it wouldn’t take us long to get so we had no one left to live with.”