BURDEN OF PERFECTION
The other day I heard someone say that he feels
uncomfortable in the company of idiots. This reminded me of William Hazlitt
telling his son that if there were no foolish people around who would care for
the wise ones. He also said philosophically speaking, foolish people need our
empathy rather than ridicule. This
particular person, to me seemed to be one who can never go wrong as he thinks
he is perfection personified.
Perfectionists are by nature tend to go into minute details
before taking a decision. They take a deep breath before they speak. They do
not trust people on their face value. We find them in offices and at home. They
are feared and admired with equal measure. It is not that their decisions do
not go wrong but they do not hesitate to own them. People in general try to be
perfect in whatever they do. Nobody
wants to fail or falter. Some of our
greats, about whose private life we know little or nothing are the embodiment
of perfection in public life. There are many such personalities in the field of
art, science, literature, performing arts, music and even families. They are
hardworking, balanced and cautious. They spend a whole lot of time in meeting
the exacting standards of perfection they have set for themselves. They may not
show it but they inwardly enjoy the appreciation and rewards that come with
perfection.
Perfection must be a huge burden. There can be no
improvement on perfection as there is nothing beyond it. The burden of not
doing wrong must be keeping them on their toes all the times. They cannot go
wrong is burden enough. The pressure must be killing. Failure may be scaring them. The race to
perfection may make them recluse as they may not comfortable in the company of lesser
mortals. There is no wonder that some of them are not in a position to carry
the burden and scum to drugs and alcohol. Not able to hold the failure on other fronts,
mainly family and relationships, they may get depressed and commit suicide.
But then the world would be worthless without these
perfectionists. They have created many benchmarks we can be proud of. They have
contributed in the field of science, medicines, art, culture, religion, yoga
and many other areas making life worth living. It is rather an irony that many
of them could not carry the burden of perfection, the latest being Robins
William, the actor, who committed suicide.
