The "Perfect" Horizon

How would you describe your perfect day? Do me a favour and make a list of things you would do and events that would take place on your perfect day. Now go through that list and tell me honestly, have you ever lived that day?

Reviewing my list of a “regular” perfect day (Oh yes, I made three categories of lists), I find that I have never done some of those things even once in my life. Some of the things, I have rarely done. For the most part, though, all of those things haven’t been possible on the same day.

I always make resolutions which I earnestly hope to keep up, but somewhere along the way, some of them do get lost. I have been pursuing perfection all my life, sometimes feeling that I’m "almost there", sometimes finding myself way off track!

I have often imagined myself being who I think is the perfect version of myself. As I meet more people, see a little more of the world, learn new things, and undergo new experiences, my perception of the perfect me also changes. Even as I type this, I’m trying to think of fifty different ways to say the same thing so that I can have a perfect sentence! I have put this article away for over a month, so that I can perfectly translate my thoughts into words.

Come to think of it, perfection is like the horizon. It is beautiful, awe-inspiring and straight ahead of you! Usually, this view is the point where the sky seems to meet the earth or sea – sometimes beautifully interspersed with trees and buildings. It is a place which has made its way into paintings, photographs and even figures of speech, because of its sheer beauty.

The horizon, though, is not a real place; it is only an abstract idea of a place, a perception of what lies at the farthest point of a person’s view. No matter where you are, and no matter which direction you are looking in, there is a horizon in view; but no matter how hard you try, it will always remain unreachable. You can follow it, but it will keep moving further away. You can chase it, but you’ll see that you can never own it.

Perfection, like the horizon, looks beautiful when you see it from afar. It brings happiness only when you are looking at it from where you are. If you begin to run after it, it will only wear you down with the feeling of inadequacy.

Instead of striving for perfection, why not try progress instead? The amazing thing about progress is that you get to make your own rules, build your own standards and move forward at your own pace. With progress, it is about taking one step each day. Every day, you are in a new place you can experience, rather than yearning for something that is elsewhere. That would be the only thing that matters. Every day also brings with it, its own little triumphs; its own little joys! 

By all means look over the horizon, enjoy the view as much as you want. Quit chasing it!