The beauty in imperfection
It seems we often chase the perfect (everything) – the perfect tweet, the perfect selfie angle, the perfect job, the perfect outcome. On top of being exhausting, it sets us up with unrealistic expectations.
What if we were to try, once in a while, to appreciate the beauty of what we have, flaws and all?
The OneTeamGov Canada stickers are some of my favourite things in the world, because they are all different and their very existence is representative of everything that’s perfect about this movement.
I ordered the first run of stickers myself. We had just gotten our logo in both languages (a story for another day) and didn’t have the skills or tools to recreate them in high resolution. So these stickers are smaller than the rest – and for some odd reason very hard to peel from the backing, making them extra quirky!
The second run was done by our friends at the Canadian Digital Service, through our champion Kylie. CDS was ordering stickers to bring to the OneTeamGov Global London event and offered to get some made for us. At the time, Ashley had a graphic designer colleague who offered (and we gladly accepted) to redo our logo in high resolution and in multiple formats (so, so grateful for that). I’ll never forget meeting up with Kylie at the QEII Centre and getting a bagful of stickers (that batch is definitely well traveled). You’ll recognize them by their size (they’re larger than the rest) and their transparency.
Mark, our friend and champion at the Institute on Governance made the third run. He trusted us with participants at their biggest annual event and carved out the time for the OneTeamGov Canada team to facilitate an unconference teaser as part of the programme. In addition, they included OneTeamGov Canada stickers in participants’ swag bag. They’re the same size as run 1 but easy to peel from the backing.
We ordered the fourth and most recent run to include in the OneTeamGov Global Victoria participants’ swag bag. Due to unforeseen procurement shenanigans (another story for another day), this order was paid for and picked up by our friends in the Government of British Columbia (yes, we refunded them). They’re the same size as the CDS run but have a white background and are distinctly glossy.
Clearly, we don’t have “perfect” stickers or the “perfect” process. But each of these has a story and is a perfectly shaped symbol of the friends, allies, champions, and supporters of the movement, of true collaboration, of coming together for the greater good, of breaking down physical and institutional barriers.
When you look at your sticker think of its story and how many people pitched in to get it to you. See the beauty in the less-than-perfect and ask yourself “If I spent less time chasing the perfect, how many more beautiful things could I get out into the world?”
