"Slightly Irregular" is a Good Thing!

The other day, I was shopping and came upon a display of underwear just piled up on a table under a sign that read SLIGHTLY IRREGULAR. Intrigued by the possibilities of irregular underwear, I shuffled through the pile, wondering if I would find bras with three cups or panties with sleeves. I was surprised to find seemingly normal underwear with no distinguishing characteristics.
When I asked the sales person to explain to me the meaning of the description, she said that this was underwear that had hidden flaws, but no one was really sure just what they were. All she knew was that the factory had labeled them as slightly irregular, so the store marked them at half price and set them out on a table. I inquired as to whether one had to be slightly irregular to fit into them, and she said she didn’t think so. So, I purchased five pair of slightly irregular sets, wondering if the irregularity was that they would fall apart while I was wearing them or perhaps spontaneously combust in hot weather.
You’ll be glad to know that I have worn my new underwear and everything is just fine. Now maybe that is because they are only SLIGHTLY irregular as opposed to totally irregular; I can’t say. All I know is that I got twice as many slightly irregulars as I would have been able to purchase had they been regular and full price…and they have served me well.
Am I trying to extract a life lesson from my underwear? Well, yes...in a way, I am. The point of this is that we sometimes plan for ourselves, a life that is perfect; and there is nothing wrong with visualizing perfection. But, the truth is that perfection really doesn’t happen very often. In reality, our lives are usually slightly irregular and when they are, we tend to discount the value of the imperfections. We focus on what's wrong and mistakenly assume that everyone else is focusing on the imperfections, as well. We label ourselves as a failure or lock in on what we did wrong, rather than what we did that was right. We discount our not-so-perfect experiences and cast them off as useless.
What I have learned over the years is that sometimes, in hindsight, it is difficult to distinguish between the good days and the bad days. I guess it’s because I have gotten more out of my bad days. My not so perfect, “slightly irregular” experiences have been the ones that have caused me to reevaluate my goals, put things into proper perspective and reaffirm that I will live through failures and disappointments.
We need to learn that one of the best things we can do for ourselves is to set goals and strive for success, but one of the most harmful things we can do is to give into a sense of failure if we fall short. In striving for perfection, we learn to accept and even embrace our imperfections.
So ends my “life is like slightly irregular underwear” story. I hope it makes sense to you. I leave this topic with one final thought…while it’s nice to have lingerie from Victoria’s Secret, we can also benefit from slightly irregulars. And who knows…Victoria’s secret might just be that she is “slightly irregular.”