Too much heat in the Sahara desert (and even in California during the summers!) and freezing uninhabitable cold in the southern reaches of Antarctica.
And the imperfection continues to the distribution of water - though 70% of the planet is water, thousands suffer from drought every year.
When God made this universe, he could have made it perfect. No wars, no strife, no pain, no suffering...but He chose not to. Maybe He wanted humans to learn the value of perfection and happiness which we might not appreciate in an already perfect world. So we have an imperfect world.
Animals do not have a perfect place either. Nearly all birds and animals have to migrate every year to find more hospitable climates. And none of the animals are 'perfect' from any point of view. All of them fight within themselves, jealously guarding their own space. The lion, the king of beasts with a regal bearing in his stride, is yet insecure enough to chase away his own sons as soon as they can fend for themselves.
And shall we talk of perfection in humans? The strife and stress, violence and vandalism, wars and... all show us that men and women are not perfect.
All except me, that is.
How can I not be perfect, an ideal? I have moderate views, all others are either fanatics about their beliefs or are stone cold about them, with no enthusiasm in their beliefs.
I have the right amount of intelligence. I might not be an Einstein, but people more intelligent than me are so academically inclined that they don't have any practical common sense. And those with less intelligence? They're dumb.
I also have the right amount of patriotism, those who think more of their country than I do are zealots and xenophobes and those who think lesser of it are not proud enough of their heritage.
I have the most balanced and well thought ideas on how to prevent riots and wars, how to run the country, the UN and the world... but nobody listens!
Sounds familiar? These are your thoughts. And my thoughts. And those of nearly everybody else. All our thoughts are strikingly alike, and yet they differ because the "I" in "I am perfect" differs. We often say, "Nobody's perfect" - while silently adding, "except me".
We are rarely ready to accept minor mistakes made by us, let alone accepting faults in ourselves or our habits. We keep laughing at the faults of others, ridiculing them and belittling them while justifying our own characteristics.
Obviously, how can a perfect person like me have faults? Those are simply habits or traits which are necessary in my work, at my job, or at home.
And in that very rare moment, if and when we do see our fault as a weakness, we still tend to justify it and blame it on our upbringing, our background, our business, our children...but have we ever given the same concession to our neighbors?
God has not made this a perfect world. Maybe He left it imperfect so we could improve it. Maybe He wants us to make it better and better, and take ourselves towards perfection. It's a test for us, an assignment called 'life'.
We can make this a better place - you and me - by recognizing our own faults, by trying to get rid of them and improving ourselves. And maybe the best beginning is in quitting that most universal of faults - looking at the faults of others. Once we start overlooking the faults of others and accepting them as they are, differences start vanishing. Long time rivals can become friends once they see fewer faults in each other, and start appreciating the other person's strengths.
We tend to judge other people by their faults and weaknesses. Khalil Gibran has wisely said, 'Do not judge the strength of the ocean by the frailty of its foam'. We tend to look only at the weaknesses of others. If only we begin appreciating and learning from their strengths, it would be like learning from the strength of an ocean's tidal waves rather than reviling in the weakness of its' seashore foam. It would only be to our benefit, and make us aware of our strength and capability.