"You're perfect" "You're perfect" "So we're perfect together" ~ Dancing Through Life from the musical Wicked
In my humanities class today, we were discussing art, and how people like Oscar Wilde saw art as a way to perfect the natural. We got into a discussion about how we are all somewhat artificial, since we're not all walking around beating on each other like a bunch of brutes. Very few people have absolutely no manners. Oscar Wilde believed that we should all become artificial in order to obtain perfection. We should put on a show for everything we do.
I agree. Not entirely, though. Oscar Wilde took a very extreme position (we are discussing The Importance of Being Earnest and how that is nearly completely artificial), and I find it difficult to agree with him completely. Certainly, being somewhat artificial is nice. I like having the door held open for me, and people saying please and thank you and smiling when you do something nice for them. That's not most natural, as anyone who watches a selfish 5 year old will know. However, I love things that are natural. I love to look at pictures of waterfalls and mountains that haven't been altered. I don't wear makeup, except for very special occasions.
But taking things a step further, I wanted to look at the image I had of 'perfect.' Often, when I'm with my boyfriend, he tells me I'm perfect and I tell him that he's perfect (though not necessarily at the same time). Yet I have an incredibly hot temper that is only rivaled by my boyfriend's. I am very emotional, and tend not to hold them back. I have nervous breakdowns that honestly scare me sometimes. My boyfriend, as I said, has a hot temper. He keeps things in, and that really bothers me. He has a multitude of double standards, even if most of them are never taken seriously. I know that neither of us are perfect, and he knows that as well. So why do we always say the other is 'perfect'?
In my consideration of the question, I have come to the conclusion that I don't see perfect as without flaw. At least, on the human scale. No one can be perfect, and it's senseless to try to aim for perfection, because you'll never attain it. So when I call my boyfriend perfect, I am not saying that he is without flaw. Rather, I believe that I am using perfect to mean something closer to beautiful. Something that is perfect is something that deserves to be treasured. With its flaws and all, it is a magnificent thing. My boyfriend counters every one of my flaws and I think brings out the best in me, so I deem him perfect.
What do you say is perfect?
This is fourth in the series of blogs, all titled Reflections. Feel free to read the first, second, and third. Enjoy :-).
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