Sometimes life falls short of our expectations, but that is okay.
As human beings, we need to differentiate between the idea of perfection versus expectation. Perfection is attainable, and many will chastise such a comment but I believe it is true. But the variable of the eternal pursuit of perfection counteracts with the fact that we look toward our individual experiences and expectations for ourselves and from others in order to gain perfection. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs dictates this.
According to Maslow…
According to Abraham Maslow, there are four tiers we must reach (safety and physiological, belonging, and self-esteem) in order to obtain self-actualization: a concept noted in textbooks as the pinnacle of human existence. From that point, all you have to do is work toward your own sense of internal acknowledgement to reach perfection, and that is what I am stressing here. Perfection is a concept.
The best way to represent this is to look toward the future, and I mean deep into it. DaVinci was noted as an artist who, despite phenomenal feats, said on his death bed solemn words: “My only regret is that I did not accomplish enough.” But the truth is, he had accomplished plenty.
Is that not the epitome of perfection: reaching your concept of self-worth? Do not be DaVinci; allow yourself to grow. Life is a garden, and you must sow your seeds to let them grow. And then, on your death bed, if you are able to guarantee your last words will be: “I did it perfectly” as your life flashes before your eyes, you have obtained perfection.
Perfection Is A Concept…
By that I mean, perfection is an individualistic experience, and nothing more. To obtain perfection, you must realize your talents and skills are at your disposal, and that you are not meant to experience perfection in your own lifetime. It is to be muttered at the end of your life, and that is what makes the human existence so substantial and phenomenal:
the fact that we have this ethereal sense of existence that we are even able to think of something like being perfect. Look at it this way: if you feel you are perfect now, you did it wrong. Take a step back, and think of it as a concept of mankind. Just like creativity, perfection is a concept that we must push forward to reach, and to obtain.
Without such a goal, who are we and what are we doing here? What are we working toward in life? And furthermore, why are we working toward it? I asked the first question, but you must ask the second. Can you obtain a perfect life? Not in your own lifetime, but perhaps in another you can attain a sense of overall stability and equality among others.
Realize this, and you will be perfect in your own frame-of-mind.
