Perfection is an Illusion

There’s no standard for perfection. We each have our own idea of what perfect means to us. We might have standards that raise us to the level of impeccable and achieve that state, but we’ll never be perfect. It’s impossible. There’s no definitional consensus for the term. But we strive for this illusive thing we call perfection. 

Where does the desire for perfection show up in my world? Well, Taro the Zen Cat is a re-written, re-published book, formerly known as Taro the Zen Cat: Seasons of Change. The book hit Amazon at the end of 2019. But over time, I knew that first book wasn’t it. Something was missing and it had been bothering me at a low grade level for years. There was more explaining, more storytelling to do. Character development needed deepening, dialogues needed expansion that were falling short, more chapters would help round out the story. Not the perfect book that had taken me so long to write! 

Yet, some people said they loved the book and never saw the holes or errors I saw that had started to nudge me to re-write Taro. Or I suppose it’s possible they saw everything but didn’t want to hurt my feelings. That can happen, too. So who’s right? Was it a perfect book or not? I didn’t think so. It was flawed because of what I came to realize was missing. But it hit the mark for others.

So the best I can do is approach perfection as an illusion. And to set it up this way, I will share one of my favorite refrains of all time by Leonard Cohen. His song was Anthem from the album The Future, released in 1992:

Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack, a crack in everything
That's how the light gets in. . .

Perfection isn’t fixed. It’s not solid, like a chair or a pot pie. The light that shines through our offerings illuminates. No, it’s not perfection. Just pure light shining through all the cracks.

Thank you for being here. May your life go well with light-filled, perfect imperfections.

— Jennifer