Beautiful
Imperfection – Letting Go
As a pottery student in school, I tried to learn how to do
all of the different aspects well. We
practiced making simple cylinders over and over. The goal was to make the bottom flat and the
sides thin and straight. Often, the clay
would wobble. Other times it would get
to thin and collapse. With a lot of
practice, soon I was able to get better and better. Pretty soon, I was able to make them almost
perfect. Our teachers would demonstrate
other techniques, beautiful curved shapes, and lovely designs. I remember one teacher seemed to hold his
hands perfectly still, making the clay go exactly where he wanted it to
go. He could make paper thin vases with
beautiful curves, and as tall as his arm.
Now, as I find my way through the making of my own pottery,
I find flaws everywhere. The bottom is a
little too thick, or too thin. The
carving isn’t perfectly symmetrical. The
glaze has a speck of different color. My
abilities are far from expert. There are
still a few pots that go straight into the garbage. Most of what I make I consider good enough
for someone else. But I strive to make
things that I would be proud of in years to come. It is difficult for me to accept the gracious
comments from my customers that the imperfections “give it character”. I know that is true. And it seems that this perfection doesn’t
matter very much anymore. I also am
starting to understand that while the things I create may be different and
technically imperfect, they are still good.
I also find that sometimes, the imperfections, finger marks,
glaze drips, etc. sometimes turn an ordinary piece into something lovely. Many fine potters have taken this to the
extreme, particularly Asian potters.
They have embraced, the hyper artistry of imperfection. This includes, roughly thrown, unfinished
rims, extreme textures, and glazes that are thick, puddle, and crack. They find, as do I, beauty in the texture,
the imperfection, and the absence of technical precision. I find particular beauty in wood fired pottery
– the way the flames and the slow process generate random and beautiful colors
and textures.
I sometimes feel like one of my pots – imperfect, a little
heavy around the middle, a spot here and there.
Overall, not bad, but if an expert really looked closely – lots of
technical imperfections.
As Moroni stated, we can be grateful that we recognize
imperfections so that we can learn from them. “Condemn me not because of mine imperfection…
but rather give thanks unto God that he hath
made manifest unto you our imperfections, that ye may learn to be more wise
than we have been.”[i]
Fortunately, I have faith that God loves me, including all
of these imperfections. I hope that when
this life is over, he will look at me the way that some people look at my
pots. I hope he holds me in his arms,
smiles and says, “I am so glad to have you back!” I believe that he will cherish and love me
just the way I am.
Let Go
Because I only do pottery when I can find the time, each
piece is important to me. However, due
to the nature of the process, it is necessary to detach myself from them from
time to time and “let go”. For example,
sometimes, during the throwing process, a flaw appears, something is wrong with
the clay, or my technique. Something
doesn’t work and the clay has to be recycled.
Other times, when it is trimmed, the walls get too thin, or there is a
bump or something that makes it flawed and it goes into the recycle bucket too. Then there is the carving, sanding, the
firing, the waxing, the glazing and moving everything in an out of the
kiln. There are lots of potential
failure points. Even this last week, a
crack in one of the kiln shelves gave way and it collapsed onto the shelf
below. It broke an extra-large platter,
a mug and a handle on a soup bowl. It is
difficult to see those things that I spent so much time on, go back into the
scrap bucket.
I have had to learn to “let go”. In the same manner, in life there are a lot
of things that we have to let go of. All of us have times in our lives when
things have not gone our way. We also
know that we will have these experiences in the future. Sometimes they are little things, a broken
pot. Sometimes they are large things,
the loss of a loved one. Sometimes it is
people who have wronged us, experiences that have hurt us, or even mistakes we
have made.
Throughout our lives, the adversary wants us to remember our
mistakes. He wants us to remember the
hurt others have caused us, and remember all of our failures and short comings. He wants us to feel any amount of unrighteous
pride and to use the excuse that we are justified.
God, on the other hand, provides us with the atonement and
expects us to change, to improve, to let go.
The world in general struggles with this. Think of the situation in the Middle
East. How long has there been the
dispute between one group and another because they cannot let go. Think of the gang fighting and how one killing
leads to another and then to another. I
witnessed first-hand the fighting between Hindu and Muslim where pride was the
fundamental issue. In the after math, my
favorite photo was of a Muslim and a Hindu, walking hand in hand because they
were friends.
Heavenly Father’s wishes for his children include three
things:
1. Put pride
behind us
2. Love as
Jesus loved3. Forgive and forget
It is hard to forgive quickly, especially when someone hurts
us or hurts someone we love. Heavenly
Father doesn’t expect us to allow this hurt to continue and he does allow us to
defend ourselves and those we love.
However he also expects us to love our enemies. He expects us to forgive and forget. Remember that God’s forgiveness is
unconditional. He asks us to forgive all
men. And he is quick to forget when we repent.
“I will remember their sin no more.”[ii]
Just like I have to let go, when a whole kiln load of
pottery is ruined, Heavenly Father wants us to let go, and forgive.
We must remember that God is the potter and we are the clay.
Remember that we are a child of a loving Heavenly Father
Forgive ourselves another others
Place our burdens on Jesus Christ
Find peace and joy
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