Friday, March 25, 2011

Perfect



With all the craziness in the world – the wars and ever-present political upheaval, the economic hardships and social disagreements – it seems selfish to focus on the self. Who has the right (or the spiritual band-width) to focus on the individual when the whole world is going to hell in the often mentioned but never sighted hand-basket? While banding together and acting as a unit seems like the appropriate course – all hands on deck and all that – units are comprised of individuals. If we all rise or go down together, surely we must recognize that the ‘all’ is made up of tiny bits of ‘me’.

And not just the ‘me’ that goes to the supermarket, funds a retirement plan, complains about the potholes, snarls at the local news, has babies, wonders where the dreams went, and waits for the end times. No, the ‘me’ that came into the world with some kind of purpose and personal power – assuming that such a ‘me-being’ could perceive its own light.

So what about all the individuals that make up ‘us’ – that is, make the world go round, spawn the wars and economic schemes and personal disagreements that flow down all those dark rivers to the seas of discontent, that care about me and mine and maybe the tribe if it makes sense (that is, profits) me and mine? What about all the individuals who focus on beauty and clothes, bank accounts and jewels, affiliations and social status, race and creed? What about all the down-trodden who have not yet realized that they aren’t going to get a break – ever – regardless of what the teacher said in elementary school?

What about the kids who are bullied because they are attracted to someone of the same sex, or a different religion or race? What about all the teachers who want to be able to support their families by teaching other people’s kids? What about all steel workers who saw their parents raise their families on a living wage, only to be told that ‘outcome’ is now nothing more than a dream? What about all the artists, poets, musicians, comedians, lecturers, and philosophers who found a spark within, nurtured it, committed to it, only to be told that the new economic reality has no room for their gifts?

What about the lovers who seek someone – anyone – to share a life, a heart, a meal, a morning, only to be dissuaded by the drive for physical perfection and emotional disengagement? What about the spiritualists who are laughed at for believing that there must be something more than material scorecards?

What about the children? What about the children who believe that we know everything? That we are the fonts of wisdom, the lights that illuminate the roads they travel, that we are the leaders who know what is important and right, that we will never harm them or lead them astray, that we are the protectors of the good?

What about the children?

And. what about us?

We are given lives. And while we think they are given without strings attached, these lives come with reinforced spider webs attached. Do do do. Be be be. Act act act. Feel feel feel. Ignore, fail, compromise, lie down. Expectations. Biases. Fears. Hatreds. Preferences. Bargains. We are wrapped in cocoons that circumscribe our lives. We do not even know or feel when these attachments affix themselves. And we want to be so strong. We want to be so good and right. We want to fulfill. We want to resist the darkness. We want to be perfect.

But we can’t.

We can’t because we don’t know. We can’t because we don’t see. We don’t know that nothing is perfect. We don’t see that nothing is perfect unless we accept ourselves. Until we accept ourselves. Until we look into our own personal mirrors, into our own personal eyes, into our own personal souls, and decide to be content with what we see staring back at our own perfect selves.

Because the only perfection is the light that shines within.

11 comments:

Lori Skoog said...

I wondered how long you were going to keep your meaningful words from us! Welcome back...so good to read something so important in that Fe style. You've got the picture!

rebecca said...

Phew! This is what happens when you stay away for so long! You write a post that is filled with so many points of conversation that I do not know where to begin! Excellent, of course, as always and I couldn't agree with each and every one of your words.

Perfection. Hmmm. Now there's one annoying trait that does not leave you alone, does it? We seek it constantly and why? Because we are instilled with its messages from time of birth. That is so unfortunate isn't it? Because we come to equate perfection with the ideal, with the successful, with the most likeable, agreeable, smarter, prettier, and so on. It seems to infiltrate every area of our lives. But then one day we wake up many decades later exhausted from its friendship and come to terms that this friend will never be satisfied and so it is time to let go and end it. And when we finally do, the freedom, the joy, the reason we were born seems to birth from within us once again and we are truly happy and at peace for the first time in our lives because we no longer compare ourselves to a perfect someone/self that we thought we had to do. We finally accept ourselves for who we are and come to find that you know what...we were damn perfect to begin with because the beauty, the soul, the spirit of life lives in our IMperfections! And yes ma'am we are gorgeous imperfect creatures indeed filling this world with the light of our own personal beings....

Eh, I think I've said enough, don't you?

Well, signing off my poetic friend,
Rebecca-san

Sally said...

Reminds me of my parents leaving me notes in my desk at parent/teacher meetings.

"Good, better, best...never let it rest...until the good is better, and the better, best!"

It just promoted the search for perfection... never quite succeeding... feeling guilty.

It takes maturity to be set free, to accept ourselves.

CoyoteFe said...

@ Lori - Working on being less than uneven on this blog this year - ha! Hope all is well!

@ Rebecca-san: Or just write longer. I must admit that although I am trying to write more succinctly, I do tend to run off on tangents at the drop of the hat! I think as we grow and age, the need for perfection lessens, but it is so deeply rooted in our society. We genuflect to the perfect game, perfect marriage, perfect job, even if we cannot possibly know with clarity what is going on in the lives of others. I say we should try to do our best and be satisfied with the results. Because our best usually is very good (if not perfect) indeed. Blessings to you!

Sally - I see from your profile that you are from Brockport. Friend of Lori's? Welcome! I like your comment. We try to encourage our children, and sometimes do not see that we need to step back and let them fly (soar or sink). Very hard. Hopefully, like you, we learn to accept (and be happy) with who we are. Be well!

Sally said...

Lori is an inspiration and a friend. She has introduced me to the wonderful world of horses and blogging. Have enjoyed meeting so many interesting people around the world.

Unknown said...

Senora Felicia,

Es muy bonita! It's truth and beautifully put.

Thank you so much for sharing.

xoxo
Senora Patricia

San said...

Beautiful and wise. I'm glad you're back, although I'm very late in saying that. I keep disappearing from blogland too. What can I say? I'm honing myself in the real world. To perfection. : )

Anil P said...

Sometimes I think that if only each of us could walk down the straight path, pursuing objectives that keep in mind the good of all, in addition to benefitting the individual, and thought through the result of our actions before comitting to them, the world might never have come to a pass that it has in many places.

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Anonymous said...

Well said. I never thought I would agree with this opinion, but it appears that I’m starting to see things from a different point of view. I have to analyse more on this as it looks very interesting. One thing I don’t understand though is how everything is related together.