Anupam- The Dreamer

The notions of excellence and beauty are so ingrained in the idea of “perfection”, that at times it is pretty difficult to look beyond the “perfection” and still find some remnants of excellence and beauty existing in the “imperfect” things! But, before delving into this realm, let us try to explore the dimensions of so called “perfectionism”.

From a theoretical point of view, it would mean something which is beyond any flaws, which is the “best” and which is the pinnacle of something. But, here we fail to understand that everything is relative in this world, so by corollary the “perfectionism” isn’t so perfect as we make it out to be! Take for example, the multi-billionaires. Can you say that the strategy of Bill Gates was the best way to become the richest person in the world? Maybe, some would call it the “perfect” way that existed at some point of time in history. But, then, if it was so, then he wouldn’t have faced any failures/hiccups in life in his journey to become the richest! Later, Elon Musk overtook him and became the richest in even shorter period of time. So, their story seems to be “perfect” in comparison with other millions of people, but is not so “perfect” in itself. Take another example, the best painter or singer in the world, maybe the “best” when compared to the other artists in his/her era, but when compared on the large timescale of human history, there may have been hundreds better. Who knows that Tansen was the “best” that ever existed or it was “Leonardo da Vinci”?

So, the whole idea of “perfectionism” can go for a toss, if you compare something against an absolute number, say like awarding marks out of 100. Here, we assume that 100 is the highest benchmark that one can achieve, but what makes that 100 is also a question of relativity! For some, scoring 100 marks in one exam is perfectionism, but can the same person score a 100 in another exam of same subject with different set of questions? Probably not! So, the point is that instead of being obsessed with numbers or perfectionism, we must try to imagine excellence or beauty or any other quality in terms of relative strength. We must not be afraid of some flaws or imperfections that come along in the way, because that is how life is in reality, as proven in the above example of billionaries.

Once, my nephew who studies in class 4^th wrote something on a piece of paper. He imagined himself to be a book author one day, and he wrote “Selled 1 million copies of this book”! Immediately, what will be our tendency to point out here? That it will not be “Selled” rather it will be “Sold”! But, I didn’t question him for writing that, rather appreciated that he atleast came up with something creative and imagined himself to be an author. Obviously, there were flaws, but do the flaws here make his ambition and creativity any less significant? I hope not! There is always a scope for improvement, but we must learn to appreciate what’s good in something rather than pointing out the flaws first! The obsession with perfectionism should not impede the urge to appreciate something good! The improvements can come later and are always welcome, but they shouldn’t cloud be an impediment to appreciate what is there now at the moment!

In the world of poetry too, the moon has often been an object of muse for the generations of poets that have lived on this planet and shall continue to be so for the generations to come. But, as it is famously said that “chaand me bhi daag hote hain”, so even the seemingly “prefect” moon is also not perfect! It is upto us, whether we want to appreciate the beauty, serenity and calmness of the moon or look at its craters only! It is akin to seeing the glass as half full or half empty! But, for a pessimist, even the full glass will have some flaws! I have seen people, who have the knack of finding out what is bad or “imperfect” in others, as if they themselves are perfect! But everything is relative, you see.

So, let’s start to appreciate and celebrate what good is there in the “imperfect” humans out there, or the “imperfect” inanimate things that exist in this world! Let us not be obsessed with the perfectionism, because in reality there is nothing perfect as such. Usain Bolt’s 9.58 seconds world record may be perfect for today, but it may not be so 10 years down the line. But, that doesn’t make him any less amazing! Having said that, it is a fact that there is no bigger room than the room for improvement in this world, but that is a discussion I will reserve for some other time….

A very happy new year to all the readers 😀