This is supposed to be a perfect post. At least that is what I would like to believe, but I know perfection is impossible to achieve. Most people will point out my writing style as a reason. I would say perfection is impossible as either everything is perfect or the term itself is a fallacy.
Defining Perfection
We hear the word all the time, but there are no criteria to what perfect looks like or maybe I don’t understand it yet. I don’t even know how to identify a perfect tree? I have been searching for it for a while now. Is it the one with a hollow? Or a 150-year-old? Or one that was trained and trimmed to be in synchrony?
When I look around isn’t the question same for everything and everyone? How about a perfect book? A perfect human? A perfect building? When challenged by these questions, one thought struck my mind. “Isn’t everything perfect the way they are?” Or maybe anything occurring naturally isn’t the same and hence cannot be compared, cannot be perfect.
I define perfection as “a set of rules that we create to compare and compete.” Perfection is actually a perception of the majority. We think something to be perfect, while it is just a perception like any other. The only difference is, it’s widely accepted to be perfect.
The Imperfect Example
Perfection is impossible yet it’s the most sought-after quality. I know one thing for sure, I will never write a perfect post, story, novel or even a sentence. Everything I write will be criticized, if not then it would be ignored. My job here is to write irrespective of the result.
It becomes much easier when we accept that we can’t be perfect. We have to be open to criticism, as one can either be criticized or ignored. I write and post imperfect and immature things because I can never write something that is complete and perfect. Same goes for each one of you out there. The idea that you’ll be perfect someday is a myth. It restricts you from doing anything until you are perfect, which turns out to be an eternity. We can never be perfect and that’s for the best.
Why is it wonderful?
Perfection blocks all the paths of evolution and improvement. By any definition, something perfect doesn’t have a scope for improvement. If I were perfect, how the imperfect readers could relate to my posts? No one needs you to be perfect, people need you, to be honest.
You can either be perfect or happy. The so-called perfection is the source of all the sorrows and comparisons. We fear imperfection and miss out a lot, while it is the perfection that we must be afraid of. Incomplete or imperfect can be improved and updated, perfect has to be replaced when it is obsolete.
Perfection or Perception
As I highlighted above perfection is the perception of masses. We as humans have no conception of any absolute values, such as perfection or imperfection. We only perceive changes and compare based on what we already know.
As Stephen Hawking said, “The universe doesn’t allow perfection.” Through experience, we can tell what is good or bad or beautiful or ugly, but we can never access the absolutes. This is the core idea behind this post and many others and this is why we can never achieve perfection.
What exactly is perfection? Without the inherent knowledge of what is perfect or imperfect, it is an idea moulded by expectations and perception of those in control. The best part is, even they are oblivious to perfection. The best way to think about perfection is not to worry about it, any which ways we will never achieve it.
I’m not perfect for your journey and you’re not perfect for my journey, but I’m perfect for my journey and you’re perfect for your journey. We’re heading to the same place, we’re taking different routes, but we’re both exactly perfect the way we are.
― Steve Maraboli, Life, the Truth, and Being Free
P.S. Have different views about perfection? Feel free to share them with us. We would be happy to publish your ideas and views.
