Love isn't finding the perfect person. It's seeing an imperfect person perfectly.
- Sam Keen, USA
How often have you been told to not pursue, or aim for perfection? Hands up, be honest. And how often you believe that, only to be told later (very much later when the results are out) that you "could have done better"? How many of you grew up with that neurosis and couldn't shake it off?
And how many of you take years to stop beating yourself up for it?
I had a perfect day. It was quiet, nicely warm in the morning. One of those days which you could delight in the rare incidence that one can observe silence and hear the real sounds of life. It started raining lightly after I took my shower post-10K sprint on my bike. I felt light, I felt myself. It's sort of a peace you get once you stop running away or towards something. I admit sweating off in a workout allows me the luxury of shedding off things that I have deemed imperfect. Just like a snake shedding its skin, I grow outside of myself by doing this methodologically. It just works and I stick to it.
Tiresome. Tedious. Insipid. That's how it has been like. I have selected this particular shot I took in the lazy arvo of Hoi An last year. Others may not see its perfection albeit picking on its imperfections. There may be a lot but to me, I have, to my still developing, photography-trained eye, I love this shot. It felt balanced, the colours were comforting, it has an uplifting feel to it, I admire my subject's love of and focus on reading. The pursuit, relentlessly, of something that you like to know through the simple lines of words. I love how I could capture this moment without interrupting his.
It's perfect.
So you see? I'm still working on shedding the pursuit of perfection but you just keep on going.
Love,
Confessions of a perfectionist (on the rehab!)
