Something I've realized is that there both is and is not perfection. Perfection is mostly a feeling, not a metric. So in that sense it's real. When you see the perfect ending to a great movie and it's just *chef's kiss* that's a moment of perfection. It may not be perfect the next time you see it, but right now it is, and that's a real phenomenon, and very desirable. I've heard this kind of perfection described as "stillness" - it gives you a sense of inspiration and a kind of Zen joy. You have no criticism. Your inner critic's jaw has dropped. That's real. It's a moment.
Similarly if you love someone and you just can't love them any less despite a big flaw you notice - or maybe even love them more because of it - that's perfection. It's a feeling. A moment. And real.
There is no perfectly reliable perfection. By throwing different criteria at anything, you can find ways it falls short of one aspiration or another. That's what we mean by "there is no perfection" and "nothing is perfect."
We're all on Earth only finitely. You will run out of time. Before then, wouldn't you like to do some things? Sometimes the "more perfect" action is like the lover's flaw - it's perfect because it's real and it doesn't get in the way of the intention or the central quality of a thing. A flawed message that expresses a heartfelt thing is far "more perfect" than never expressing that. By allowing perfection to fracture and be a feeling, a moment, an intention, we invite it. In Japan this general idea is called "wabi-sabi." In Italy, "sprezzatura."
Live with more perfection by embracing wabi-sabi and sprezzatura. We have only so many moments. Use them. Well. You will find there is perfection in that.
