JohnZ
05-18-2007, 10:31 AM
I cannot claim credit to the writing below, but I wish I could. This was written in response to a question on another forum. The writer speaks to the imperfections we observe in daily life in what we wish to be a perfect place.
She writes so well:
Why do we see imperfection all around us? Maybe because when we use the word �perfect� we mean flawless to the senses of the body. It has to do with the eye of the beholder. That is, the body�s eyes, ears, nose, and so on, measure what they perceive according to a set of standards developed by and inherited from the egoic body/mind�s parents, friends, teachers, culture, and so on, and the closer a thing comes to meeting those standards, the closer it is to being perfect.
I ask the question, is a rotting apple perfect? It certainly doesn�t seem so at first glance. But think about it. If apples didn�t eventually naturally rot, the world would be up to its ears in apples.
Is a volcanic eruption perfect? When we remember that volcanic eruptions are what created Waikiki Beach, I�d say pretty perfect.
So, a rotting apple is perfect when it�s on the ground beneath the tree, but not when it�s in my refrigerator. And a volcanic eruption is perfect when it occurs umpteen million years ago in the middle of an ocean.
Let�s face it. Very nearly everything we don�t like (and therefore label �imperfect� or worse, like �evil�) somehow threatens the body each of us calls �me� and its things ... its health, its home, its possessions, its nation, and so on.
She writes so well:
Why do we see imperfection all around us? Maybe because when we use the word �perfect� we mean flawless to the senses of the body. It has to do with the eye of the beholder. That is, the body�s eyes, ears, nose, and so on, measure what they perceive according to a set of standards developed by and inherited from the egoic body/mind�s parents, friends, teachers, culture, and so on, and the closer a thing comes to meeting those standards, the closer it is to being perfect.
I ask the question, is a rotting apple perfect? It certainly doesn�t seem so at first glance. But think about it. If apples didn�t eventually naturally rot, the world would be up to its ears in apples.
Is a volcanic eruption perfect? When we remember that volcanic eruptions are what created Waikiki Beach, I�d say pretty perfect.
So, a rotting apple is perfect when it�s on the ground beneath the tree, but not when it�s in my refrigerator. And a volcanic eruption is perfect when it occurs umpteen million years ago in the middle of an ocean.
Let�s face it. Very nearly everything we don�t like (and therefore label �imperfect� or worse, like �evil�) somehow threatens the body each of us calls �me� and its things ... its health, its home, its possessions, its nation, and so on.