The first rule of perfection - there is no perfection
Yoga Leaks
I bring good news; of the worldly sort. Perfection is dying. There will be no heir to the ancient throne.
There are cracks in the monarchy. Only that. So if your children still want to grow up and have what Iron Man has, don’t call me a liar. It took only two thousand years to realise that we officially can not be the Greek gods that we strived to be. There is no end, which is what Perfect means in Latin – to finish. We used to think that everything had an end; the flat earth, life, Big Brother.
Can you imagine all these people sitting around a table, goblet in hand, laughing hysterically upon learning that the earth was actually round when they thought it was a pancake? Now it’s our turn. Did we really think that we could achieve this stagnant idea of perfection, to live above the rest, free of cause and consequence? Ha Ha Haaaa!
Times are changing faster than ever, and humanity reels from the G force, like it was the fastest snail in a race for evolution. The Kundalini has moved south, to the womb of the feminine. And so goes the vibe of humanity: softer, more communicative, leaving the masculine, mathematics concept of perfection in its wake.
It's more like a whisper in the air; a philosophical article here, more organic trends there, like my favourite class of humans, the hipsters, who are being cool in a way that no one has been before. God, they hope!
People everywhere are beginning to not express their desire to attain perfection as the ultimate goal.
The other day I spotted a wabi-sabi article in mainstream media and saw it as a sign. Wabi-sabi is a Zen Buddhist concept which nurtures all that is authentic by acknowledging three simple realities: nothing lasts, nothing is finished, and nothing is perfect. The Japanese observe wabi-sabi in their asymmetrical tea cups and Japanese tea ceremony temples, as well as their art, homes and daily lives.
“Wabi-sabi is the quiet, undeclared beauty that is discovered in imperfection” ~ Professor Oak.
The concept would have been alien in 1985’s Miami Vice and Dynasty consciousness, but today the concept is ripe for immediate consumption. And just in time! The pursuit of perfection has killed thousands every year since the first Who Can Swim Farthest in a Toga competition on the shores of the Aegean. Always interesting deaths I have to say, though the ol’ heart attack has become a little passé. Death by energy drinks, cell phone brain tumors or dehydration from the Mozambique desert ultra marathon is the newest must-have instant knock-out.
Aiming for perfection is like believing that Pratyahara, level 5 of the 8 limb path to yoga is the end, mistaking ultimate control for enlightenment.
We’ve grown up since the Greeks discovered how to compartmentalize thought. Now humanity is ready to return to the authentic and organic. What will those metaphorical last three limbs look like?
I consider wabi-sabi the next limb. It feels right to embrace that which makes us a little bit dented, sometimes wrong. Always striving, but at the same time, never arriving. There is no end to anything, only transformation.
This is the good news I bring. Another sign that we are evolving. Consider the environmental consequence this shift will have. We’ll need less stuff. Mismatch is good. Chipped plates are ok for dinner parties. Old clothes are fine...
Our egos and any sense of entitlement will have to go. How scary, imagine. But if we all change at the same time, I wont feel like I am this singular person who stands here, spiritually naked, bracing for snail-pace evolutionary G-force. Having said that, I'll always have the good people of my island nation for company. And Bhutan. It's just more fun if you come along.
Together, Let's join the evolution!
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Reader Comments (13)
I'm in! Brilliant article! Insightful. I want a visa to where you live!
I just love that first picture. Nothing says "Perfection is dying" better than a dead Barbie. I love your optimism. I'm in with Friendly Fire!
Is that Professor Oak - from Pokemon?
You are most astute Mr. Gump.
Hi Presidentess. Thanks for this really interesting article. I tune in all the time. Hope you keep on with these unusual subjects. I just have one question. How is the kundalini caught up in this story? I kinda get it but need more info.
Hi Charles. Good question! There once was an answer in the article, but it ended up on the editing room floor, so to speak. The kundalini (of the planet) used to center in the northern hemisphere, which over the centuries, became heavy with masculine energy - because of all the wars and carrying on like we did. To balance, since the earth itself is a living organism and is ever seeking homeostasis, it moved it's core energy to the southern hemisphere which is female dominant. Why this is important, is that 'Perfection' was conceived in a masculine-dominant world. It was a mathematical word before it became applied in the way that we use it today. I hope this helps. Thanks for your kind words, by the way xx
But I love Dynasty and Miami Vice. Still working hard 7 days a week to afford a convertable just like Don Johnsons. What if I didn't need that stuff, you want me to ask? Far out. I guess I'm quite a few miles down the wrong track!
Hi Yogaleaks. I never heard of wabi-sabi. Any relation to wasabi? Heh. Just my attempt at being funny. Seriously though. I love the idea that wabi-sabi brings. I can see why you think that it's a way that we can move forward. Funny that all these ancient eastern concepts are coming to the west as a futuristic ideal? Did we just have to get over ourselves just to catch up to where they were up to 1000 years ago? But it seems like we suckered them into thinking that our ways are better than theirs and they are westernising and we are easternising. How the world goes round. And up, one hopes!
Snail-paced evolutionary G-force. Ha ha. I'm feeling it too. One needs to hold on to something very sturdy for all these changes. Like, the ground.
Hi Presidentess
As usual, very interesting article (I read all your posts regularly).
I am familiar with the concept of Wabi-Sabi and try (with a moderate success) to implement it in my daily life (it can really help, when you encounter difficult, annoying and seemingly unsolvable problems – like the annual floodings in the place where I live)
Nevertheless, I think that aiming for perfection should not be abandoned altogether (you do it yourself, in a way, when you leave part of the article on the editing room floor …)
Aiming for perfection is closely related to a constant strive for self-improvement and to self-discipline, which are both much valued by ancient eastern scholars.
I guess that a possible way to deal with it, is to look at "aiming for perfection" as a compass showing a general worthy direction, but know that it points to a horizon which is actually unreachable (since nothing lasts, nothing is finished, and nothing is perfect).
Or did I get it all wrong?
Waiting for April the 21st
Superb thoughts, Padawan Domom. You say it so. The forthcoming article might just be a big post script to this article. Thanks for tuning in.
Hi Pres.
Actually it's Domo and not Domom. I had a typo...
Nothing is perfect (indeed)
I thought you were a pokemon that had evolved since your last Domo post. They change their name (slightly) when they evolve. You must be a human reader, not that I'm biased. Until next time Domo xx