Change: The Key to Relative Perfection
Though part of the title would seem to contradict one of the fundamental ideas I constantly advance (that nothing in this reality can be truly perfect), it is not, in fact, a contradiction. Here is why.
Change is at the heart of everything. When our universe was created, be it through a God, or gods, goddesses, deities, or nothing other than the sheer force of reality operating at a level higher than we can comprehend, it was created such that change would allow us to achieve the highest levels of perfection possible in this reality. Even if one does not subscribe to the theory of an afterlife, and therefore to the theory that we become perfect after we die because we go on to a perfect reality, it must still be noted that change is what moves us toward perfection.
In many ways, it seems like we must have come from perfection. No matter what, the fact that anything exists at all is the sign that something, whatever that thing is, is perfect enough for our reality to exist. Unfortunately, I am not sure how I can rationalize or explain this idea in words, as it is more just a feeling I have, and therefore is nothing more than my sincerest belief. With this in mind, though we come from something perfect, if we are deviation of that thing, then we cannot be perfect in its sense because we are not 100% it. Imagine it this way: an orange cannot be 100% apple if the whole of its existence does not constitute 100% the existence of an apple. Now imagine that the apple is perfection, and that the orange is everything in our reality. Bad analogy, I know, but that's the best I could think of off the top of my head. Sorry.
At any rate, though we cannot be as perfect as whatever we came from while we are in this reality, we can achieve relative perfection in this reality. Relative perfection means the highest form of perfection achievable within this existence. Because we have never seen and can never see outside of this existence, we can aspire to achieve its perfection because we cannot fully know its perfection. Though we can attempt to conceptually ascertain the nature of its perfection (something I do frequently, unfortunately), we can never expect to comprehend the specifics of its perfection, because it clearly exists at a level beyond ours. Therefore, it exists beyond our ability to describe it. Our perception is based off this reality; any other reality is impossible for us to imagine or understand or describe, if given the opportunity to see it as we exist now.
It is for this reason that we should not worry about achieving ultimate perfection. It will not happen now, and we don't necessarily know whether or not we will achieve it after we die, so ultimately, it should be beyond our normal and more pressing concerns. We should, however, try to achieve the highest form of perfection possible in this lifetime. And this perfection, in its most fundamental sense, is achieved through change. I don't mean any specific sort of change, I just simply mean change, as in never trying to be static and never being static in anything, if it all possible.
Though it should be noted that certain things constantly change within or around somebody no matter what they do, these changes do not actually matter if they cannot be controlled by an individual. Why? Just like the perfection that exists beyond our reality, if something cannot be controlled or affected at all by an individual and is not able to be manipulated at all by someone, then it should not concern us because we obviously cannot do anything about it. Time wasted trying to change or affect or control something that simply will not allow itself to be altered by an individual is time absolutely wasted without purpose and without any hope of any success. It should be noted, however, that there are very few things in this world that cannot be changed, affected, or controlled with enough effort or devotion. But those that can't, don't devote much time to, or you'll end up like me - a capricious and relatively unproductive "philosopher" whose thoughts have no more credence than anyone else and who spends far too much time on fruitless endeavors.
Change is the most amazing thing we have in this existence. It allows everything to seem new at some point or another, it allows us to remember things based off other different things, and it allows for excitement to always be found in life, so long as one is willing to look. In its most beautiful sense, change keeps us from being imperfect as we are now forever. I do sincerely believe that one who tries to embrace change will in time reach the highest form of perfection attainable in this reality. Will this perfection be understood or necessarily perceived as useful by others, or even by the person achieving it? It's hard to say, but it's doubtful it would be perceived as useful, because it's utility would be for one's state of mind and comprehension, not for the institutions and structures of today's world. A person who has achieved perfection in this existence would not make the perfect scientific genius, nor the perfect politician. Perfection is not to be associated with intelligence because intelligence is understanding the patterns and ideas of this world, whereas perfection is changing until you move beyond it as much as one can in this life.
It is virtually impossible to create a system for describing the path to perfection or what the state of perfection is like. I am nowhere near perfection, because though I recognize the need for change, I am not able to change the things that truly matter, and so I am becoming static. Perfection in this world does not necessarily mean leaving, or withdrawing to a life of isolation like that of a hermit, but I imagine that it does mean understanding certain things, mostly things about one's own self that most people don't understand about themselves. Why is this so great? The greatest superpower one can ever hope to have is the ability to know themselves. The greatest mysteries in this world are our own minds, because we cannot fully comprehend our own personalities so long as we use it. And the greatest limitations in life are self-imposed, because the most powerful force over our actions is our own personality, and when a personality or mind feels hindered or afraid about something in any way, a barrier is placed between them and the action.
A person who has achieved relative perfection though understands a tremendous deal about themselves. Though we can never fully understand ourselves so long as we exist here, a perfect person would understand almost everything, or at least nearer to everything than anyone else. This removes many to most of the boundaries to their potential, and like a bird freed from a cage, it will soar, going anywhere. I cannot truly say if anyone has ever achieved this perfection. I imagine that Ghandi was nearer to relative perfection than most, but that is only based off what I know of him. He was able to move beyond what his body and mind told him he could not do, and did it anyways. He was able to starve himself to near death in his efforts for peace. Ultimately, nothing could ever stop him. Death only removed him physically from here, but nothing else could impede him. In his mind, nothing hindered him from his goal, and the results were drastic. Some of that was being in the right place at the right time, but some of it was just one amazing individual who was dynamic enough and who understood enough about himself to make one tremendous splash in the pool of life.
Why does change bring us closer perfection? Because we can never truly know perfection, we must assume that change it is good. Though we can become worse through change, we can also become better, and though we cannot really become worse by staying the same, we cannot become better either. We take that risk, but you have to figure if you change enough, some of it must be good, and eventually, the good will outweigh the bad. Moreover, as we change, we become like clay being sculpted. If we change, we become some fantastic creation of the process, representing the nearly infinite number of facets to our life and the infinite number of influences that made us. We represent a reality created by perfection, and forged from the things that go on within it. If we do not change, then we never become that finished model, and we fail to become one of reality's great creations and a living testimony to its splendor. To me, it is too much of a risk not to change than it is to change. And in life, you can't necessarily expect others to change you; you have to be willing to change yourself. My biggest fault is that I am unwilling to change the important the things about myself, and I am creating a shell in which I will hide from reality and begin to become static. I hope that find the strength to follow my own beliefs and ideas and CHANGE.
You don't have to agree with me. But at least recognize that in changing things about ourselves, whatever they may be (and I don't mean physical as much as I mean mental), you move ever closer to the perfection of this world. And that, crazy or bored reader (you have to be crazy or bored to read any of this boring stuff) is one reason why I love this world, for all its flaws and suffering. Good night.
Change is at the heart of everything. When our universe was created, be it through a God, or gods, goddesses, deities, or nothing other than the sheer force of reality operating at a level higher than we can comprehend, it was created such that change would allow us to achieve the highest levels of perfection possible in this reality. Even if one does not subscribe to the theory of an afterlife, and therefore to the theory that we become perfect after we die because we go on to a perfect reality, it must still be noted that change is what moves us toward perfection.
In many ways, it seems like we must have come from perfection. No matter what, the fact that anything exists at all is the sign that something, whatever that thing is, is perfect enough for our reality to exist. Unfortunately, I am not sure how I can rationalize or explain this idea in words, as it is more just a feeling I have, and therefore is nothing more than my sincerest belief. With this in mind, though we come from something perfect, if we are deviation of that thing, then we cannot be perfect in its sense because we are not 100% it. Imagine it this way: an orange cannot be 100% apple if the whole of its existence does not constitute 100% the existence of an apple. Now imagine that the apple is perfection, and that the orange is everything in our reality. Bad analogy, I know, but that's the best I could think of off the top of my head. Sorry.
At any rate, though we cannot be as perfect as whatever we came from while we are in this reality, we can achieve relative perfection in this reality. Relative perfection means the highest form of perfection achievable within this existence. Because we have never seen and can never see outside of this existence, we can aspire to achieve its perfection because we cannot fully know its perfection. Though we can attempt to conceptually ascertain the nature of its perfection (something I do frequently, unfortunately), we can never expect to comprehend the specifics of its perfection, because it clearly exists at a level beyond ours. Therefore, it exists beyond our ability to describe it. Our perception is based off this reality; any other reality is impossible for us to imagine or understand or describe, if given the opportunity to see it as we exist now.
It is for this reason that we should not worry about achieving ultimate perfection. It will not happen now, and we don't necessarily know whether or not we will achieve it after we die, so ultimately, it should be beyond our normal and more pressing concerns. We should, however, try to achieve the highest form of perfection possible in this lifetime. And this perfection, in its most fundamental sense, is achieved through change. I don't mean any specific sort of change, I just simply mean change, as in never trying to be static and never being static in anything, if it all possible.
Though it should be noted that certain things constantly change within or around somebody no matter what they do, these changes do not actually matter if they cannot be controlled by an individual. Why? Just like the perfection that exists beyond our reality, if something cannot be controlled or affected at all by an individual and is not able to be manipulated at all by someone, then it should not concern us because we obviously cannot do anything about it. Time wasted trying to change or affect or control something that simply will not allow itself to be altered by an individual is time absolutely wasted without purpose and without any hope of any success. It should be noted, however, that there are very few things in this world that cannot be changed, affected, or controlled with enough effort or devotion. But those that can't, don't devote much time to, or you'll end up like me - a capricious and relatively unproductive "philosopher" whose thoughts have no more credence than anyone else and who spends far too much time on fruitless endeavors.
Change is the most amazing thing we have in this existence. It allows everything to seem new at some point or another, it allows us to remember things based off other different things, and it allows for excitement to always be found in life, so long as one is willing to look. In its most beautiful sense, change keeps us from being imperfect as we are now forever. I do sincerely believe that one who tries to embrace change will in time reach the highest form of perfection attainable in this reality. Will this perfection be understood or necessarily perceived as useful by others, or even by the person achieving it? It's hard to say, but it's doubtful it would be perceived as useful, because it's utility would be for one's state of mind and comprehension, not for the institutions and structures of today's world. A person who has achieved perfection in this existence would not make the perfect scientific genius, nor the perfect politician. Perfection is not to be associated with intelligence because intelligence is understanding the patterns and ideas of this world, whereas perfection is changing until you move beyond it as much as one can in this life.
It is virtually impossible to create a system for describing the path to perfection or what the state of perfection is like. I am nowhere near perfection, because though I recognize the need for change, I am not able to change the things that truly matter, and so I am becoming static. Perfection in this world does not necessarily mean leaving, or withdrawing to a life of isolation like that of a hermit, but I imagine that it does mean understanding certain things, mostly things about one's own self that most people don't understand about themselves. Why is this so great? The greatest superpower one can ever hope to have is the ability to know themselves. The greatest mysteries in this world are our own minds, because we cannot fully comprehend our own personalities so long as we use it. And the greatest limitations in life are self-imposed, because the most powerful force over our actions is our own personality, and when a personality or mind feels hindered or afraid about something in any way, a barrier is placed between them and the action.
A person who has achieved relative perfection though understands a tremendous deal about themselves. Though we can never fully understand ourselves so long as we exist here, a perfect person would understand almost everything, or at least nearer to everything than anyone else. This removes many to most of the boundaries to their potential, and like a bird freed from a cage, it will soar, going anywhere. I cannot truly say if anyone has ever achieved this perfection. I imagine that Ghandi was nearer to relative perfection than most, but that is only based off what I know of him. He was able to move beyond what his body and mind told him he could not do, and did it anyways. He was able to starve himself to near death in his efforts for peace. Ultimately, nothing could ever stop him. Death only removed him physically from here, but nothing else could impede him. In his mind, nothing hindered him from his goal, and the results were drastic. Some of that was being in the right place at the right time, but some of it was just one amazing individual who was dynamic enough and who understood enough about himself to make one tremendous splash in the pool of life.
Why does change bring us closer perfection? Because we can never truly know perfection, we must assume that change it is good. Though we can become worse through change, we can also become better, and though we cannot really become worse by staying the same, we cannot become better either. We take that risk, but you have to figure if you change enough, some of it must be good, and eventually, the good will outweigh the bad. Moreover, as we change, we become like clay being sculpted. If we change, we become some fantastic creation of the process, representing the nearly infinite number of facets to our life and the infinite number of influences that made us. We represent a reality created by perfection, and forged from the things that go on within it. If we do not change, then we never become that finished model, and we fail to become one of reality's great creations and a living testimony to its splendor. To me, it is too much of a risk not to change than it is to change. And in life, you can't necessarily expect others to change you; you have to be willing to change yourself. My biggest fault is that I am unwilling to change the important the things about myself, and I am creating a shell in which I will hide from reality and begin to become static. I hope that find the strength to follow my own beliefs and ideas and CHANGE.
You don't have to agree with me. But at least recognize that in changing things about ourselves, whatever they may be (and I don't mean physical as much as I mean mental), you move ever closer to the perfection of this world. And that, crazy or bored reader (you have to be crazy or bored to read any of this boring stuff) is one reason why I love this world, for all its flaws and suffering. Good night.
posted by Andrew McKenna at 8:51 PM
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