The Illusion of Perfection

An essay on the nature of perfection in relation to the human mind.

Every concept in the human mind pairs with its opposite, whether we believe it so or not--it is the snare of duality, the knowledge of good and evil, that plagues human consciousness.  To know one thing without its twin is impossible, and this precept applies to the notion of perfection.

For something to be perfect, it needs to remain perfect--without change or blemish--otherwise, it cannot ever said to be perfect in its current state.  Perfection as known a century ago is no longer perfect in the modern day; a truth to ancient man is a superstition to the contemporary man.  

Even nature cannot show us perfection: nothing remains fixed, it is always eroding, weathering, blowing, raining, shifting, dying, and being reborn.  What can be said to be perfect which is always becoming something else?

Perfection has a counterpoint of imperfection.  We use the term "I'm only human" to denote our constant flawed nature, because we cannot fathom any single person being without flaw.  If the notion of imperfection did not exist in human thought, so too would the idea of perfection cease to exist.  Tis only by comparison that we understand and give life to the idea of perfection.

Another line of thinking may be that we are all perfect, everything is exactly as it should be, and there is no such thing as imperfection.  This derives from the notion that events have occured as they must occur, for what has happened cannot have happened any other way--thus, it is perfect in and of itself.  Imperfection arises when we gaze backward, analyzing what has happened in light of what is happening, and wondering what might have happened if different choices had been made.  Yet, we lack any power to bring about an alternate outcome; our current state of affairs (personally or globally) is a result of events playing out precisely as they must--perfectly.

Ultimately, perfection is an extension of human misery.  Mankind is perpetually wishing for something better, hoping things will improve, wanting more, needing less, and all the while pining for meaning in a world that seems to offer only transient pleasures.  It is precisely because of this ever-changing reality that perfection, and our longing for it, cannot be satisfied.