Why I Don’t Want to Live in a Perfect World

Let’s Dream Together

What would it be like to live in a perfect world?

Jennifer, alias TruthDancer, recently tagged her readers here, and asked us to write about our vision of a perfect world. A small excerpt from her post follows:

…We need a new vision. As a world family, we need to hold in our hearts the possibility of what could be our perfect world…We need to believe a world of compassion and care is a real possibility…I invite you to blog about your vision of what is possible. If it feels comfortable for you, create a post describing how you would envision the world if it could be healed in its most perfect state. Take a minute to create an image in your mind, and share with your readers, what a healthy world would look like. And then tag all your readers with a similar tag! …

I love Jennifer’s post. It has so much thought and hope in it!
We will make this a dramatically better world when we let ourselves dream great dreams and take action to bring them to life.

Look at the rest of my post, and if you’d like, join us in writing about what’s possible.

Perfect Fantasy?

What would my perfect world look like?

The selfish little boy in me might see a world where all pleasures are mine. I would be able do anything that I wanted. No one would have to work, or struggle. We would be forever young and beautiful.

When many people think of a perfect world, what they want is a perfect fantasy world like I’ve described.

And they want a world that someone else made perfect, and gave to them as a present.

That’s not the sort of world that we ache for.
We are dreamers, creators, builders and artists. We are here to remake the world, not simply to enjoy it forever like a clever video game.

Artists, not Critics

It’s easy to see and criticize what’s wrong in the world outside of us (though we might disagree on some of the details).
It’s harder for me to face and see clearly the darkness and violence within me, and how I contribute to the chaos around me.

And it’s harder still to see the wonder that lies hidden in the possible, like a fountain that can burst forth and heal us all. It’s time for each of us to make a choice.

Maybe it’s more accurate to say that it’s time for each of us to make different choices. We’re always making choices whether we’re aware of them or not.

Will I choose to face my own darkness instead of becoming obsessed with only the darkness around me?

Will we give up our full-time jobs as critics, and become full-time creators?

Not Quite Perfect

When I think of something perfect, I think of something finished.
In this sort of perfect world, there’s no room for improvement.

Other people might imagine a perfect world where each person thought and felt the same way, like a great swarm of mindless ants covering the earth. Having religious, spiritual, or political beliefs in common, and common values ought to be far different than denying the extraordinary variety found in the hearts and minds of men and women.

I don’t want to live in these perfect worlds.

A Great World, Not a Perfect One

Some mythologies and religious traditions speak of an after-death paradise as a place of pleasure and a forgetting of the challenges of the world.

Sometimes we grow so tired with our struggles in this world. We find ourselves weighed down with the pain and disappointment that we experience and see all around us. In the face of this, we can understand why someone might dream of the absence of pain and struggle, and look for a world full of endless pleasure.

Personally, I believe in a life after life. But whatever the nature of that other world, the present world should be a world of challenge and creation.

I imagine a world where everything around me is beautiful and wonderous, and yet just beginning.
I imagine a world where I’m always growing and learning and creating.

My vision of our new world sees a great world, not a perfect one.

Vision Revealed

What else do I see in our great, new world?

I see children, adults, and the elderly living every day with an extraordinary sense of wonder.

I see no hunger for food, but a hunger to find, celebrate, and apply each person’s unique gifts.

I see people everywhere tired of living mechanical lives, and casting aside those dull, tired lives for lives of passion and beauty and hope.

I see people letting go of stories of emptiness, and telling great stories of abundance.

I see a hunger for inner freedom that gives people the courage to question themselves and others.

I see people leaving their tiny, weak cocoons, and seeing how large and how powerful each person really is.

I see people looking at each others’ eyes, and being awed and attracted by the beauty within.

I see guardians and gardeners surrounded everywhere by living things.

I see us living and playing in the sea of energy that surrounds us.

I see a love of healing.

I see myself shining in that world, although I can hardly believe it is me.

And I see you there with a beautiful smile, bursting with energy.

What do you see?