Imperfection and Infinity

This is a musing reflection around the concept of perfection and an alternative way to consider it…

My Journey

Perfectionism is a trait that I have exhibited consistently throughout my life. Over the years I have come to realise that my drive for perfection was founded from a deep insecurity and disdain for myself meaning I felt the need to always push for more and to “be better” in a bid to justify my own worth to myself.

Thankfully through practicing introspection and learning about myself I have come to see this mental game for what it is. A game.

The practices of self-love, self-compassion and self-kindness all contribute to an increased sense of self-worth thus cultivating self-esteem and reducing an irrational drive for perfection.

I have however discovered another perspective on perfection; but first let’s understand what it is that we are perceiving…

What is Perfection?

Perfection is something which is attained at the moment of completion and in the human mind is very often defined as a static snapshot of how something will be at this given moment in time. A still image of something that within our perception represents a harmonious balance of all the elements at play.

Is anything ever complete though?

Zooming Out

In the previous post The Evolution of Everything, we explored theories around how every moment is unique and the fact that the universe is expanding while trying to resolve equations founded on irrational numbers which stretch on to infinity.

With this perspective in mind, we must embrace the fact that nothing within our lifetime can ever truly be regarded as complete because change is the only real constant within the universe.

“The more a thing tends to be permanent, the more it tends to be lifeless.”

-Alan Watts

A Trick of the Mind

So, perfection really is no more than a construct of the human mind. An attempt to grasp at the flowing river of life which will always lead to frustration.

What about perfect action though?

There is almost an angle where you could suggest that while aiming at attainment of perfection as a snapshot of achievement is unrealistic, you could possibly say that you could achieve perfection in your approach to the pursuit of this attainment.

This too however is flawed as really no universal standard of “perfection of accroach” exists when you consider that every moment and as such context of a given action is unique.

Even if we attempt to review our performance in retrospect in an attempt to “grade it” we will be doing this using stored memories in our mind which are simply an imagined abstraction of past events and do not represent the reality (as it was) as a whole.

Take Away

The concept of perfection only exists within the abstracted construct of the human mind.

I am not suggesting that we should discard all attempts to aim at improving our performance and outcomes, but we must appraise these relatively rather than in absolute terms.

Allow your life to blossom like a flower,

and as the seasons progress,

embrace the cycles of death and regeneration within you.

Do not judge.

Simply be.

Stop grasping at the river and allow yourself to float.

Enjoy, for now.

Previous Posts – The Evolution of Everything

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