The greatest illusion the mind can play on itself, is the very idea that perfection can be touched. As if one can hold it in the palm of their hands and feel it at their fingertips. The truth is, perfection is a deception. No matter how hard you can try to touch the sky, you will never quite reach it. The desirable beauty that comes with the deception of perfection can appeal to the eye. It comes in this shiny package, that draws you in. Once it appears that you’ve got a hold of it, the hooks pulls you up just to thrust you back into the water. This leaves people feeling cold and hallow. It’s like thirsting for water that never satisfies. It can make someone drown in the negative thoughts of their own mind. As if the only way to breathe again, is to meet a standard. As if the only way for air to hit the lungs is to be free from all flaws. But freedom does not exist in this way of thinking, slavery does. One can become a slave to an image that only exists in the mind. With this, people become a prisoner to their thoughts. Beating themselves up, to then turn a blind eye to scars they’ve caused. These scars form after disappointed from false expectations. Expectations that were unreachable to begin with.

Here’s the artistic definition of perspective: the art of drawing solid objects to give the right impression when viewed from a particular point. This is an artistic skill that takes practice. Once learned, it could be used as a powerful tool. True artists know how to create an illusion that appeals to the eye. They can change and manipulate a piece of artwork to make it seem a certain way. With this, admirers can see through the eyes of the artist. But this paper isn’t about art, it’s about the art of perspective and how one can be deceived. You see, just like in art, perfection is based off of perspective. One thing can seem a certain way based on how an individual views it. Just like the common saying, “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.” Both men could be looking at the same exact thing but their perspective on it could be very different. The same goes with perfection. One person can treasure something as being so valuable and perfect while others despise it. This is the result of seeing the same thing through the lens of a different eye.

The real problem is that we desire what we don’t have. We might think our lives will be perfect once we get that new phone, car, shoes, relationship, etc. Once we get all of those things, we’re already onto the next. Then the next, and the next, and the next once more, until we have to stop. We have to realize what we’re doing. The idea of perfection is controlling and it can tear people apart. It snowballs into this spiraling cycle and we hit rock bottom. Then we can look up and see how far we’ve dropped down. We can then see how much we’ve lowered ourselves in order to get something inaccessible. There are young girls at this very moment starving themselves to get the perfect body. There are families competing with each other over who‘s more successful. Kids being called “poor” for not spending money on overpriced trends. There are people wasting away their soul and exchanging it for money and fame. These are the dangers of perfection.

Nothing is black and white. Nothing is simply good or bad, hot or cold, ugly or beautiful, flawed or perfect. It’s all gray, good and bad, hot and cold, ugly in a beautiful way. Our perspective always changes and that’s why perfection is unreachable. What’s desired always changes, trends are always changing, people are always changing. One thing that remains is that everything, without fail, will have  laws. As much as we can try to convince ourselves otherwise, there’s only so much lying we can do. The tongue can only speak false claims for so long. We need to give up and accept it: perfection really is deception.