"Perfection" is a waste of precious time. Because no one ever reaches perfection, attempting to reach it can cause unhappiness. And attempting that, which is truly impossible means always failing, which in turn, is not The Right Path to happiness.

 

The Japanese have a philosophy called Wabi-Sabi, which is the view of finding beauty in every aspect of imperfection in nature. It emphasizes simplicity, beauty and transience. Both Wabi-sabi and Kodawari  both acknowledge that perfection can never be reached.

 

To say that something regarding the activities of mankind is “perfect” is not correct. It is never correct. Because mankind’s activities can never be perfect. However, saying something is “near perfect” can always be correct because the modifying word “near” can always, and, I feel, IS ALWAYS, arbitrary!

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So, please, from now on, anything that we do, be it sports or academics or art, and especially, your body, please, do not say it is perfect, or you will always be wrong!

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Say it is “near perfect” and you can often, and, perhaps, always be right!

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Near perfect (used without a hyphen, as I do) I believe is not even grammatically correct, it should be hyphenated or you could say nearly perfect, but still,  “near perfect” is “near correct”, so even that works well, too.

 

I feel that near perfection, or near perfect is very attainable. You just have to want something bad enough and then stick to a plan. Relentlessly pursue it and EMBRACE IT! But the plan must not be a gimmick. It must be grounded in common sense.

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This, I believe, is the philosophical foundation of my book.

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And I believe that in my book, with respect to happiness, you can truly find near perfection and you can also walk on The Right Path!

 

-Roger