Real & Perfect

Someone asked me recently if at the
moment my nails looked the way they
did in one of my pictures.

Of course I could have lied, but I
told him that because my nails are
real, I find they often get to a
certain length, and unfortunately
they start to break - which is what
the case was when we spoke.

It got me thinking about "real"
things. Real things tend to
deteriorate, break, have seeming
imperfections.

Fake things do, too, but not as quickly
or as often, and when they do, they
are often able to be replaced so the
illusion of perfection remains intact.

I find myself wondering why it is that
"real" is seen in some way inferior.
Non-alive objects are one thing, and
human beings something else.

When it comes to human beings it often
seems that the standard for perfection
is pretty high, so high that few might
ever be it, and if so, it is likely for
a blink of an eye.

And yet, we somehow think that this
unrealistic standard is preferred over
what is the most realistic possibility.

Perhaps it wouldn't be so bad, if it
didn't have detrimental effects on
people and their self esteem and self
image. But no one is ever the universal
definition of perfect (whatever that is),
even if they seem to project perfection.

If we could redefine what perfection is,
marketing and advertising companies
probably wouldn't be in business any
more, as so much of what we are sold is
something to help us seem more perfect,
which translates to "acceptable."

I wonder if the reason we seek perfection
is so that we can feel accepted, by others
or even to ourselves.

Interesting thought to consider. In the
meantime, consider that you ARE perfect
at one thing: Being Yourself. Nobody
could be you better.