The Nature of Perfection

More times in my life than I care to try and count, I have heard the phrases "Strive to be perfect." or "I'm looking for Mr./Mrs. Perfect." or any other phrase involving the word perfect. So now it is my term to talk about perfection.

Perfection sucks. (Didn't expect that one, did ya?) Oh, Samm, details? OK!

The nature of perfection is a state of unchange. It is a state of stagnation. The way of nature is change. Life, death, rebirth, the circle of life. Molecules gather to form something living, it dies, it decomposes, those molecules go to form something else. These are all states of constant change. Even inanimate objects, like rocks, are constantly changing due to weathering and erosion and what have you.

Let's look at it from a socio-political-psychological standpoint. For this we will create a nation. We will call it Unstam (get it?). And this nation needs a home, so we will place it upon a planet full of other nations. So we have a planet full of diverse and interesting people, some of which are part of the nation of Unstam. Just for the hell of it (and because I may need it in a bit), we will name the other nation Costsa. Unstam started out like any other nation of people. They were nomads, discovered fire, invented the wheel, developed agriculture. Fastforward to a post-industrial/pre-nuclear era, circa 1925. Unstam is at the top of it's game. They are the leader in all areas of advancement. They have the best medical, they have the fastest vehicles, all that good stuff. Now, the leaders of this great nation look around, decide everything is just about perfect, and erect this giant dome covering the whole country. Isolated. No one coming in, no one going out. They become a Communist society. The people are told what to think, what to do, how to live. And they are happy. Because everything is perfect.

Jump ahead 50 years (to about 1975). Due to unforeseen circumstances, the dome has to come down. Something with polution or weaking ultrastructure or something like that. Unstam is now in the world eye. The society that was once perfect reentering the world arena. But they are entering a world far advanced from them. While they were away, Costsa became the world leader, taking up the mantle of innovator. They have discovered how to split the atom, they have a man on the moon, they've done the whole "Age of Aquarius" thing, free love and all that. They are a truly enlightened nation. And poor ol' Unstam, still dancing the Charleston and driving Model T's. They were perfect, they saw no need to change, thus they became stagnant.

The nature of perfection is counter that of the nature of nature.

So, in conclusion, I don't want to be perfection. I want to be imperfect. I want to look in the mirror every day and decide, "Hey, it's time for a change. I need to better myself." Because the moment I decide I am too good to be better, I have confined myself to be stagnant and to let the world pass me by.

~~Samm! the Imperfect