The Quest For Perfection

What is perfect? Is it something that can be easily defined? A series of checkboxes that once ticked will attain the ideal status of perfection.

Nobody's life is entirely perfect, it could be that someone is stuck in a dead-end job struggling to pay bills, perhaps they are alone and unhappy, or their health is far from ideal, or they simply just don't like the way they look (and while we are at it, lets not forget the billions of people in this world that live and suffer in poverty). There are so many ideas of perfection that persist in our society, all of which exclude the vast majority, and when combined exclude everyone.

In some respects, the pursuit of perfection can be a good thing. Like an artist spending his or her life trying to create that masterpiece, or the idealist dedicating his or her life to achieving a world of equality. But at what price does perfection come?

Pedigree dog breeders spend much of their lives trying to breed the perfect dog, according to a set of rules that define perfection explicitly. Whether it be the practically non-existent nose of a pug, the stumpy little legs of a dachshund or the frankly offensively named furnishings (loose wrinkly skin) of a bassett hound or many other similar breeds. In their quest for the perfect dog, breeders have brought about all sorts of health issues for these animals, unsurprisingly including breathing problems and mobility problems alongside hundreds of other common canine ailments. Yet, in the world of dog shows perfection is defined purely cosmetically, the way the animal looks when compared against this ideal is the only significant factor, whether that be to the detriment of its health or not. It is a sad fact that many perfectly healthy dogs are put to sleep (killed!!) simply because they do not look "right".

The idea of perfection as a rulebook prevails in many other places. The perfect pop song will feature a verse-chorus-verse structure, a common predictable chord progression and lyrics about joy and love. The perfect movie will have action, special effects, a love interest and an able-bodied good looking male hero. While these perfect songs and films will often be successful and top charts most would agree that they are, ultimately, shallow and forgettable. While the true classics are those that dare to be different.

This brings us back to our own perceptions of ourselves and our world. While we continue to judge each other and ourselves in relation to that which we believe to be perfect we can never be completely satisfied. Instead we should marvel at the wealth of diversity that exists in the world around us, we should see that it is these imperfections that ultimately make us who we are and we should learn to redifine what it is that we consider to be perfect.

There is nothing wrong with wanting to improve, but we need to understand the true costs. We need to realise that true happiness does not come from changing ourselves to fit with some mythical construct of perfection, but instead from changing the way we perceive ourselves and each other. There is no such thing as "perfect", none of us will ever be "perfect". We can only be the best that we can be. Surely thats good enough.