A Voice Unheard- Part I: Prose

Be Perfect

I've had a rather eventful morning by embarking on an attempt to understand "perfection". The idea that perfection even exists in our vocabulary puzzles me a great deal. No human being is perfect and according to various religious texts humans are not really capable of perfection. Like Michael Fox said: "I am careful not to confuse excellence with perfection. Excellence, I can reach for; perfection is God's business."

So then why are there some people on this earth whose very goal is to strong arm themselves and everyone around them to reach perfection (a rather fabled state if you ask me)? Why can't we just be happy the way we are, with our constant improvements and our growths? What does it mean to be perfect? I think for me a sense of contentment and a sense of mental peace are far more important than the race to perfection.

I am inclined to agree with Anne Lamott (as written in Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life) when she said "Perfectionism means that you try not to leave so much mess to clean up. But clutter and mess show us that life is being lived." I feel the need to learn and become a better person but I really do not see the point of struggling and fighting and going out of mind and exhausting my bodily energy to reach some state which till now has remained undefined. I mean, what (if at all such a state does exist) is perfection? What qualities must one possess to be deemed as perfect? Who determines these qualities? Are these qualities subjected to the changing times or do they remain a constant throughout time? It's all too subjective and highly debatable.

Perhaps perfection is used as a motivating tool for people to keep improving and growing and becoming better human beings? I cannot say I agree with this entirely. The need for perfection can also be hazardous to the human psyche being creating conflicts between what is and what something ought to be in a person's opinion, which may in turn leave them feeling inadequate about themselves for not having accomplished what they think ought to be perfect. This being said, some people can only be driven by such challenging quests like attempting to reach perfection.

I guess the key lies human growth. We all need to grow as human beings for mankind's evolution. And the only way to do so is via improvements and technological advancements and intellectual evolution. Perfection has probably been used in the past to motivate people to move and grow. However, I think it was used a little too generally for all of humanity, thereby neglecting to account for the fact that different people are motivated in different ways. The same motivation tactics might not work for all people. So if striving for perfection is not your thing then use some other form of motivation. The point is to grow and keep advancing and not stagnating; or so I have come to understand.

I can safely conclude my analysis on perfection (from my perspective) by referring to a quote I found online by Lauren King, which sums up how I feel about the whole concept: "There are two kinds of perfect: The one you can never achieve, and the other, by just being yourself."