Perfect image sells

[Rose]

Beautiful pictures on Instagram/magazine covers/billboards bring in a lot of money because they tend to hit that “perfection” spot in people. Most people are immature, and children believe in “perfection”, in fairy tales, in beautiful lives, in becoming that rich millionaire, or having that hot body.. a “great life” and becoming “really happy” - just like in the pictures. This is also why “happy endings” movies sell so well. 

 

But I’ve been thinking - how often going on Instagram has made me feel more joyful? Probably 1-5% of time when I open it and there is some meaningful phrase or quote there…  “Ideal life” just makes me feel anxious.. real life makes me free and joyful.. 

[Phil]

You gotta untwist perfection & idealism from perfect & ideal. 

The latter is thoughts / thinkable, the former is aware of thoughts & indicative of the actuality. 

I mean, not ‘you’, but in terms of interpretation. 

That (it seems) most interpret in that way, is perfection. 

[Mandy]

I saw this short video recently and have been thinking about it, it's a visual of how "time heals all wounds".  Everything we create on earth is like a wound, every road paved, home built. We've had some severe storms and I haven't done any exterior painting for a few years, so my house looks like crap right now and I'm working to get it back to that satisfying curb appeal place. Lately that involved hiring my dad to come remove several of past "improvements". Decade old deer eaten cedar hedges cut, neighbors defunct mailbox in front of my house (with her permission of course) removed, kid's falling apart swing set removed. To begin to create anything, you have to bring out the wrecking ball. It's much faster to demolish than to create, Creation takes a kind of stupid love, or bravery because we know it's all gonna go back to way it was again. That itself is the only perfection. It's all sandcastles, and it's all more spectacular and satisfying when you do it knowing it won't last and is all for naught but the pleasure and satisfaction and love of creating. Perfection is not a state or a snapshot.