When a baby is born, she is filled with self-admiration and love for herself. A baby does not see imperfection; for in her eyes, she is completely perfect. Startled yet? Well, think about it. As we age, we are bombarded by society’s visions of beauty and perfection. But what happens when we don't fit these expectations? We are told to change or fix our imperfections to fit the “ideal.” There have been many articles on how the media has skewed our vision of perfection, but I am going to be focusing on one notion: we are already perfect.
It took me a while for this to resonate with me. I spent many years fixing imperfections in the form of acne and weight, because I wanted to be as perfect as I could be. The pursuit of perfection was exhausting as I found myself being unhappy with the way I was and my acne worsened as a result of this stress. When I lost all the weight I wanted to lose, I still found things that I wanted to fix, which made me very anxious everyday.
As I began my own self-healing work and practicing meditation, I started understanding how humans had created false ideas of perfection, not only through our media, but also through other cultural expressions. Every part of you is absolutely perfect, ranging from your body's organs and processes to your exterior beauty. By calling yourself imperfect, you are insulting the gift of life, which has been given to every being on earth.
A few weeks ago, I went to the zoo for the very first time (I know!!!), and I was super thrilled to see all of the animals that I had seen photographs of and read about. One animal that caught my attention was an adorable anteater. Many people think they are ugly, but I always found their nature to be fascinating.
The anteater came out of his hiding spot to greet his audience. In a curious manner, he walked from one end of his habitat to the other showing off his looks. What caught my attention was that he was very confidant with the way he perceived himself, almost as if he didn’t see any difference between himself and his audience. Several times, he attempted to come closer to his observers, but was unable to due to a deep, vertical barrier. Nonetheless, he continued to impress his crowd as he walked back-and-forth in a lovingly nature. The anteater knew that he was perfect.