I love this shawl.

It was made in India with peach colored silk and gold thread.

Shortly after someone gave it to me, I noticed a large blue ink blotch on it.

“Oh dear,” I thought. Had it been damaged?

The person who gave it to me explained that the women who hand make these shawls purposefully put a flaw into each one to remind us that only God is perfect.

I take a shawl with me when I go to the Zen Center to meditate. I wrap a shawl around me when I go into shavasana after my yoga class. In menopause, the shawl is the perfect accessory for me because my body temperature is constantly shifting.

It is such a relief to know that we don’t have to try to be perfect. We can be flawed and beautiful at the same time.