Have you ever heard the old saying, “If everything was perfect, life would be boring?”
Well, it’s nonsense. It’s an axiom of ignorance.
I finally saw it clearly. I always sensed it, but could never explain it.
It is not boring to be perfect, at all. In fact, it’s the most ideal state one could possibly hope for.
Here’s how the insight came.
I was playing doubles with my tennis buddies.
We were evenly matched, so had some lengthy points that evening.
Mid-set, we had the most memorable point of all.
We were on!
No player was going to let that ball go and lose the point.
We hustled. We ran. We lobbed. We volleyed. We hit overheads. We got the overheads back. The point was intense, drawn out much longer than others. Eventually, there was a slip by one and the point ended.
But wow. What fun! We whooped and hollered, gave high fives and rejoiced in having such a grand time.
Settling into the next point, it struck me that it was a whole lot more fun to play points like that than to have a point suddenly end by double faulting a serve or hitting the return into the net. We were out there to play, and to play you have to keep the ball going back and forth in point. It seemed more “perfect” to enjoy a strong and healthy exchange of the ball between players than to witness and be part of endless unforced errors and not even working up a sweat. Playing tennis well is fun. Making mistakes is not.
I then thought about playing music. As a pianist, my most memorable times in performance were playing the music as perfectly as I could and for others’ enjoyment too. The more “perfect” the music, the more enjoyable and inspiring the performance.
There is nothing wrong with perfect! Perfect is a good thing. It is a desirable quality. It is not boring. It is not a negative. It is not to be pooh-poohed.
People with high standards and vision strive for it.
Jesus Christ saw it and led his followers to it.
Perfection will never be found in matter or in a material thing. It is found in Spirit, in heaven.
Heaven is not a boring place. Heaven is where the finest music is heard, the ultimate tennis match is played, the most desirable relationships form, the happiest scenarios unfold.
Disease, hatred, violence, rage, jealousy, and envy—the offspring of imperfection, do not make life enjoyable. They do not add “spice” to life. They create misery and suffering. They are not to be desired.
Perfection is to be desired. Perfection is to be sought. But seek it in the right way, by walking down the path Jesus has laid before us.
It is not boring to be perfect. Quite to the contrary….
Oh, I just loooved this article, Evan ! Many times in my life I had battles inside me regarding this issue and this text just cleared it out. Thanks for sharing 🙂
I never heard of that statement. How could life NOT BE PERFECT, be boring. I don’t wish for myself or any living being to experience sin, sickness or death. “be ye perfect as your father in heaven is perfect.” The Bible tells us. No other comment can be made on this subject. Boring if perfect, RUBBISH!
I agree…sort of.
Of course it is absolutely thrilling to excel, and even to achieve perfection, but part of that thrill comes from the possibility that it might NOT happen.
Here’s an example: suppose I were to play a video game and I tried to achieve the high score all the time. After becoming an expert at the game, I would try purposely to create obstacles (such as, perhaps, playing left-handed) to make it more challenging. Suppose, however, that the game would give me the high score no matter what I did (even if I walked away into the other room!). At that point, the game would no longer be fun.
It reminds me of an episode from the classic TV show: Twilight Zone, in which a criminal is killed and goes to heaven – where he has a valet who caters to his every whim: brings him the best food, gorgeous women, all the money he’d like, and a pool table – where he can’t miss a shot. After awhile, when the man realizes he has perfection, he says: “I don’t like it here. I don’t want to be in heaven – I want to go to the other place.” At that point, the valet says to him: “What makes you think that you’re in heaven? This IS the other place!”
Your blog reminded me of a thought that came to me many many years ago that when one is perfect one wouldn’t be seen around here anymore. I am sure this changed that concept. Thanks Evan.
What an important subject to consider! The human perfectionist is sometimes painful to those who encounter him – but that is NOT perfection. Perfection already exists as an integral part of creation itself. We can have the joy of accepting it, rejoicing in its wonders and embracing the possibility of constant harmony, progress and achievement. Thanks, Evan.
Thanks, Evan – great discussion. This says to me that striving to do your best is more rewarding than either the “mediocrity” of not trying, or giving in to the repeating of mistakes. In either case, we should be alert to identify these suggestions and cast them out! Life is much more enjoyable and fulfilling when we continually strive to do better.
To Dino,
I understand what you’re saying, but think a little further…in infinite Mind there is no “final top score.” There is always something more to experience and achieve. There are no limits. You will never get to a final point of “no more.” There is always something more, always a better shot to make, always another piece of music to learn, always a higher score to attain. There is no end of good. It just keeps going and going and going…
Thank you Evan! Reminds me in a way of the movie “Coach Carter” a true story about inner city kids playing great basketball in Richmond, Ca. The coach kept asking this one kid (Timo Cruz) what was his greatest fear? The other players on the team kept muttering why was Coach asking this question so much? We know in Christian Science that we are meant to shine as the sun!
Then Timo came up with his greatest fear:
Timo Cruz: “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine as children do. It’s not just in some of us; it is in everyone. And as we let our own lights shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”
“Boring” is a negative. If perfection were boring, it woulld not be perfection.
Does anyone know the source of Timo’s statement:
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us.”
I recognize it as from someone else; I’ve read it several times before.
And to Roberta Houston’s comment: Thanks for the reminder to strive to do better…really this effort is an acknowledgement of perfection! This is prayer!!
Infinite Mind, God, IS perfect. So, we are, too.
We can glimpse, and prove this, every day!
Thanks, all. A very interesting topic indeed.
Sue :<)))
I think it comes from Marianne Williamson, her “A Return to Love.” book.
The statement is from Nelson Mandela (1994).
Thanks for allo your wonderful blogs and comments 🙂