The Outsiders (4.2.25)
Knock, knock, knocking on heaven's door.
One of my favorite songs of 1988 was Fairground Attraction’s “Perfect” (Best British Single!). Eddi Reader’s rockabilly rhythm tapped into universal lament over unhappy love: “Too many people take second best/But I won't take anything less/It's got to be, yeah/Perfect.”
Delicious.
That’s love – but what about life? How could we make life “perfect”? Negativity bias is the human tendency to focus on bad things before good. So, let’s start there, listing out things that would never happen. These could include:
never going hungry or feeling desperate,
never being rejected or excluded for you are,
never being physically or emotionally abused,
not being discriminated against, manipulated or used,
not being the target of gossip, ill will, or cliquishness,
not having people hope for your failure or delight in your misfortune,
not being cheated, lied to or treated transactionally
…and so on, and never having any of this happen to people you care about.
What about the positives? In this perfect world, you:
have access to healthy nourishment, time and resources to experience things of beauty or wonder, and freedom to explore what interests or excites you,
are challenged in ways that make you grow,
have rest and recreation, fun and joy,
would be championed, loved, and generously rewarded,
get a second (or third) chance when you fail,
would be stimulated and nurtured by your environment,
are valued by your community, and recognized, encouraged and affirmed by people around you,
are surrounded by friends who are patient, generous, and kind,
always receive compassion, or empathy, or sympathy when you need it
…and so on, and have all these blessings extend to the people you love.
Aren’t we a needy species!
There are lots of things, positive and negative, that we need — to feel at our best, to do our best, to give our best. Our desire to not just be well, but to also do well, is what separates us from lesser creatures. To be human is to seek purpose, to have meaning, to be always improving, to cherish being reliable, resourceful, dependable, helpful, useful.
Wanting a perfect world is selfish in the sense that it’s all about “us”. But these are also the conditions that make us our best selves. When the world isn’t kicking you in the butt, and is working some heavy karma in your favor, don’t you feel like “wow, I really have it good, how can I do good, and help others around me?”. The pouring of goodness into us leads to the pouring of goodness into others. This multiplier effect is essential to world perfection.
People want to be good.
But in a broken world, we rarely experience the conditions that enable us to be all we are capable of being.
We are pitiful indeed.
What if we made a perfect world, in which everything contributes to, and nothing detracts from, human flourishing? There is, however, one catch. If you ever mis-step, you’re out. Naturally, because an imperfect you is incompatible with a perfect world.
You cool with that?
I’m not sure I am. More next week.
J
Please consider subscribing to both Deeply Boring (Substack) and its complementary sibling newsletter, Beyond Boring (LinkedIn) to ensure the richest cross-platform content experience.