Straight from the Narwhal's Mouth - February

The Perfect Narwhal

--- Steven Albers

     

      Even if you’re no perfectionist, you can’t deny that irresistible feeling you get that things have to turn out just right; or at least close to what you had in mind. Sometimes we avoid certain situations for the sole reason that we know it “won’t turn out right,” like that time you avoided a date with crazy Mathilda. But much more often, you make that very same kind of decision subconsciously; sometimes with good reason, and sometimes because you’re simply misguided/misinformed. These hopeful bouts of perfection arise everywhere, and we can’t help but fall victim to them.

Whether you believe it or not, perfection simply isn’t a part of human nature. In fact, there are even diseases like Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) where those affected try to make things perfect, and are bothered to the point of insanity when they aren’t. Given the lifespan of mankind, one would think society would find ‘perfect’ methods for things as important as finance or government, but in many cases, they’re about as imperfect as they’ve ever been. Ironically, it’s often times perfection leading people to over think and over correct things that didn’t need to be touched in the first place.

Take, for example, those little situations you either avoid or chase after because you think you’re waiting for/creating some perfect moment.  That situation can be as minor as taking a different route to class because you’re afraid you’ll see that cute girl from Anthropology class when you look like a train wreck, to something as major as going into a job interview early and unprepared because you’re afraid that someone will get the job before you when you’re really hurting your chances by stumbling through easy questions.

We’re constantly trying to create this perfect world for ourselves whether we think we are or not, and by doing just that, we may be working towards the exact opposite of what we really want. Going after that job interview too soon made your potential employer think you were sloppy and unprofessional, when really you’d have been a perfect candidate if given some time to clean up. And what if that girl shared the same sentiment you did? Now you’re spending more time treating her like she’s a ball of fire instead of approaching her like a sensible human being.

Now think again of those times of serendipity (accidental good fortune), when the proverbial (yet very real at the same time) stars align, and that perfect situation you were trying so hard to engineer literally falls into your lap; like when you realize that your friend’s parents have close ties to this famous figure you’ve always dreamed of meeting. Life’s too flawed for you to spend it chasing perfection; especially when living that imperfect, defunct life of yours presents picture-perfect situations all the time.