Perfection… A Myth!

Perfection is cherished by the majority of people. Every individual wants to be perfect in all or some of the other aspects. But is it possible?

What is perfection?

Google says, ‘the action or process of improving something until it is faultless’. OK. So, let’s discuss this definition later…

So, after a lot of ‘ifs and buts’ I finally decided to start writing a blog and named it ‘Ae Zindagi’. Then I was wondering, what will be the perfect topic to write about in my first blog? A cold war of thoughts of various topics was going through my mind. And I stopped for a second and thought, why am I looking for a perfect topic? I can choose any topic I wish to write about, after all, no one is going to certify it, if it was a perfect topic or not. So, I finally decided to write about the urge of many people wanting to do perfect things or to be constantly running in the race of perfection. P.N: There was a time when I was a part of the perfection race.

I had a childhood issue of wanting everything perfect. Like perfect mornings, perfect afternoons, perfect evenings etc. Not to cry, not to be sad, not to feel low and always be highly organized. To always have a perfect routine which is never disturbed. But almost after years, I have realized that all of this is a myth. There’s no such thing called ‘perfection’ in real life. Suddenly the whole idea of perfect life seemed to be more like a robotic life. I mean, you cannot set bars for yourself and then remain constant throughout your life. Life is a process where you grow as a human being. You nurture your own self. You become stronger, confident, gain knowledge and experiences to deal with all of that comes in your way whether it be good or bad. Somewhere deep in my heart, I have understood that it’s okay to feel low, to cry, to get angry, to be lazy on some days, to just not follow your routine, it’s okay to be the one who you are and to be the mess you are. Imperfection has its own beauty. At the end of the day, it’s your life and not a movie that everything would turn perfect and beautiful just overnight.

I always imagined what a picture-perfect moment would be. But never really came up to a scenario because something somewhere was always missing. Once it was a rainy day, I woke up in the morning and was enjoying the weather, the scent of the wet soil, the cold breeze, along with retro songs playing in the background and the whole atmosphere. I sat near the window to have my breakfast and to my utter surprise, my wish came true. There were hot Bhajiyas served for breakfast along with hot coffee. I was so happy I thought here it is ‘The Picture-Perfect Moment’. What else do we want if we have heavy rain, fragrance of the soil, garam bhajiya, hot coffee, cold breeze and music? I called my father to click a picture and arranged myself for a fake candid. So, let me tell you, my dad takes a lot of time while clicking pictures, he would do all the settings and blah blah blah and then he will take a picture. Meanwhile, I was sitting ready for capturing my picture-perfect moment, my eyes halted at a girl. A small 10-year old was enjoying in rain, playing with the raindrops which we indeed call ‘dancing in rain’. And my whole idea of the perfect moment was changed in a fraction of seconds. I thought this is perfect – the rainy atmosphere and the happiness of dancing in rain. And the irony is, minutes later that little sweetheart thought that dancing in the rain was the biggest mess she did for the day because her dress was all sloppy and dirty. So, my perfect moment was actually a mess for her. Again, it’s all a game of perception. But the moral is, no picture can be perfect, at some point you or someone else might feel that there must be some change in your picture-perfect moment.

I have seen many people trying to be perfect like the perfect wife, perfect husband, perfect daughter, perfect son, perfect mother, perfect father, a perfect individual or struggling to have a perfect life, a perfect moment etc. In fact, when I got married, I wanted to be a perfect daughter and a perfect wife. But soon I realized, I can be a good daughter and a good wife, and this perfection race would not only mess my responsibilities but also the person who I am. It’s a universal rule that we have to make choices in life at some or the other point of time. I got married at 25 and my parents didn’t want me to get married at an early age. But I chose to get married and my parents agreed, probably because they love me. Somewhere in the corner of my heart, I knew I have hurt them but that’s fine, it was my choice and I knew it was worth it. But this does not make me a bad daughter, because I love them, I care for them and eventually seeing me happy after getting married would make them happy. 

I feel the best decision I have ever made is to neglect the urge of being perfect behind and just go with the flow of life. Now I don’t search for perfect moments, I rather feel blessed having happy moments with imperfections. I don’t struggle anymore to be a perfect daughter or a perfect wife or a perfect individual. I have kept myself open to all situations, free from all stereotype bars. I just make sure the people around me are happy and I complete my share of responsibilities as much as I can, without any burden of being perfect.

After all, ‘Mr. Perfectionist’ of Bollywood also had flops after being perfect. But what matters is he tried to do something new, which made his flops his experience for life. So, coming back to the google definition, google says “the action or process of improving something until it is faultless is perfection”. I feel throughout our life we go through a process of improving ourselves. The more we go deep into any topic, the more information we get and it’s never-ending. It’s like digging into the ground, the more you dig, the more soil comes out and the process has no cessation. The moment you feel now it’s perfect or in other words, when you feel it’s faultless you discover something which can make it better and the series continues.

So here I end my today’s blog. Just remember perfection is a myth. What matters is inner happiness and satisfaction. If we go behind perfection searching for happiness, peace, love and all that you wish to have at a time, you will end up empty-handed. So, learn to enjoy the moment and embrace the imperfection and live life to the fullest. After all its one life, why to enter a race which is all made up of myth?