Perfection Has Myriad Forms
A brief perspective on seeking perfection through mindful eating
Sometimes I hear accomplished Spiritual practitioners say “Everything is perfect just as it is.” I think this is not at all helpful for those of us toiling along the path to enlightenment. So much of the world is a mess that this sentiment seems incomprehensible. “Are we going to leave the world just as it is?” Please, no. “We need changes!”
All of us can find perfection in myriad niches within our world. It’s actually pretty easy, once you’ve strengthened your attention muscle with some regular meditation. Just focus your full attention on something, choose to love it fully, and it will seem perfect. I’ll give you some examples.
I took a bite, closed my eyes, and narrowed my focus to the flavor of the chocolate. I’d mixed bitter 100% cocoa with a very sweet minty chunk. They had melted together. My mouth stood in judgment of the sweetness — was it too bitter or too sweet? Neither, it was perfect!
One bite of my lunch seemed to be the perfect blend of everything — it couldn’t be improved in any way that I could think of. I was deeply enjoying it just as it was.
Had I engaged the rational mind I might have worried about its healthiness, the calories, what could be added or removed, etc. Or the eternal “What will I do next time to make this better?”
Instead, I closed my eyes to narrow my focus to the sensations in my mouth and fully experienced the enjoyment of that bite. This created a brief moment of complete perfection. The cream and its texture filled my mouth in a way that felt fully satisfying. For an instant, my entire world, in all of its imperfections, was shrunk down to a tiny morsel that felt perfect.
Attention to that narrow experience of bitter/sweet suspended all judgment of everything else. In this little moment, in this little way, my entire world felt perfect. Swallowing, looking up from my plate, I returned to the wider world, with all its flaws, knowing that it’s also full of little pockets of perfection.
For the masters, these moments must be strung together, one after another in some kind of continuous flow. OMG, doesn’t that sound fantastic? Somehow they can apply full attention to everything, all the time. I’m guessing that love must be part of the power they are applying. Somehow our spiritual leaders can even love their enemy, and maybe that’s a way to see some kind of perfection even in something that seems deeply wrong.
How do we get there? IDK. But I suggest you start with chocolate.
Mindfulness practices do provide a path to finding tiny bits of perfection throughout our day. We see something we like and create perfection by focusing our attention and adjusting our attitude. The more we look for them, the more we can find these nitches. In that first gulp of a cold drink on a hot day. In the love that wells up when a smile breaks out, creating wrinkles and showing crooked teeth, on the face of our beloved. The love that wells up from within sees only perfection.
So, “Have a nice day …” hunting for those little moments of perfection. They are myriad.
Donn Denman led a Mindful Lunch at Google for several years.
