There is a disconcerting trend in our world today…like this is news to anyone alive today, right? Which one are you picking for today? I hear you thinking. Well, how about this for today…

The quest for the perfect…fill in the blank.

You can watch TV for an hour and be inundated by the ads for all the perfection that you can buy. The Ab Cruncher for the perfect stomach, all the various pills for the perfect mood or health or sex life. There’s no shortage of quick and easy perfection in our world today. And it is all available for a reasonable price, payment plans are available, and for the next 10 minutes it will be half off!

Doesn’t anyone realize that there is NO quick fix on the path to perfection? Better yet, doesn’t anyone realize that perfect is, for the most part, unattainable in this world?

Eastern philosophy teaches that perfection is a path that reaches its culmination when the sojourner leaves this Earth. Western philosophy teaches that perfection is only attained once we leave the “mortal coil”. So, in this respect it seems that the teachings of the East and West agree. Perfection is something that’s gained when you die. And, to me, that makes sense. Think about our world for a bit and you’ll realize that perfection is pretty unattainable. And yet the snake oil salesmen constantly pander it to us.

So why do the perfection products sell so well? I think that it’s because we are being taught to not be satisfied with our own selves. There are no “normal” models. Every one of those bastards has the “perfect” body. “Perfect” teeth, smiles, eyes, hair, bodies. Don’t you just hate every one of them? Ha. Caught you! THEY are not the problem. In fact, I would suggest that, YOU are the problem.

Why do we buy into the “you’re not perfect just the way you are” garbage? You ARE perfect, just the way you are. Simply because you are YOU. I would submit that the reason that we buy this is because we are self conscious and afraid.

We are afraid that we won’t measure up in the world’s eyes. We are afraid that we will be rejected if we are just ourselves. We are afraid that we are simply not enough.

You know what? I’m going to tell you…you may be right. You might not measure up in the world’s eyes. But SO WHAT? Look at some of the people that DO measure up in the world’s eyes. Can you think of any that are perfect? Nope, me either. And the bigger question is; are they still measuring up in the world’s eyes? I bet you a million dollars that none of them have ever lasted the whole time.

You might be rejected for being yourself. In fact…I tell you that you WILL be rejected. It happens. SO WHAT? Does that make you less of a person, simply because someone doesn’t want to be with you? Absolutely friggin' not! It just means that that person is not going to be a part of your story. And that’s OK.

You might believe that you are not enough. That you don’t have what it takes. This is the saddest part of it all. Why? Because it keeps SO many people from even trying and finding out. OK, now we do need to inject some common sense into this one. Let’s not find out if we’re good at skydiving by just jumping out. K? But when it comes to anything this world can throw at you, remember that you have EVERYTHING it takes to deal with it. Now, you might not deal with it the same way as someone else, but SO WHAT??! If you want to try something, remember that you have EVERYTHING it takes to try. You may find out that you aren’t any good at it, but SO WHAT?? You may find out that you don’t have the skill necessary to do it well, but SO WHAT?? Learn it, build it, use it, and eventually you will become good at it.

Perfection at anything is a journey, full of amazing encounters and wondrous sights. And just remember one thing…Life, is all about the journey.

See you on the road, my fellow travelers.