Today I glanced at a book cover upside down that actually read as “perfect” but my mind read it as “respect.” The similarity in words is quite remarkable — the difference of one letter S/F. I then wondered what kind of relationship these two words have in our world.

Respect is a wonderful gift we grant to each other in circumstances where quality and substance are present. Perfect is certainly a quality we respect, but it is equally possible to respect that which is imperfect. This brings to mind the Japanese aesthetic principle of wabi-sabi — an inherent respect for that which is imperfect as an ironic expression of perfection. There. It all makes sense. Thank you for coming along on this thought journey together with me.