A little bit misshapen is just right

I think the reason something has character isn't because it has a shape or because it's beautiful, but because of the 'imperfection' or 'body heat' that exists in between.

Try picturing a handmade, uneven rice ball.

A perfect triangle rice ball, neatly formed by a machine or a mold. That has its own merits; the texture is the same no matter where you bite it, and it's undeniably delicious. You could even call it 'beautiful' in terms of functional beauty. But you wouldn't look at that and say, 'That has character,' would you?

On the other hand, a rice ball made by your mom, or one you made yourself,
a slightly misshapen rice ball.

Like, 'Hey, the right side is a bit dented!' or 'Isn't this one
unusually huge?'—those uneven
ones. Maybe the filling is peeking out a little from the top.

In terms of form, that might be far from perfect
'beauty.' But it definitely has
'character,' right?

And why is that? It's because precisely because the shape is uneven, you can see the 'warmth of the palms' of the person who made it, or the 'time they spent trying their best to make it.'

The invisible kindness and stories, like 'They must be hungry, so I'll make it a bit bigger,' are tightly condensed into that misshapen form.
It's not that 'it has character because the shape is beautiful'; rather, I think it's because there's a 'gap'—where it's slightly collapsed or uneven—that allows human heart and story to enter and turn into 'character.'

Things that are too perfect have no room for you to connect with them, so while they are pretty to look at, they don't really move your emotions. But like a handmade, uneven rice ball, it's precisely because there's a 'clumsy part' that you feel an attachment to it and sense a gentle depth—that is, 'character.'

So, the clumsiness you show in a glimpse, or

the traces of a small mistake, are the true identity of that thing's 'character.' Even with people, aren't those who are a bit scatterbrained and uneven more 'full of character' and charming than perfect superhumans?
When you think about it that way, don't you feel like you could learn to love your own daily little mistakes and clumsy parts, thinking, 'Well, this is just another part of my character!'?

Well then 🍡