ON PERFECTION (AGAIN)

I finally got around to watching "The Last Samurai" yesterday. (My bearded friend recommended it to me about fourteen months ago. In my friendship defense, he has yet to watch "Josie and the Pussycats," which I have recommended several times. Probably.) I really enjoyed the movie and am reminded that Tom Cruise can be a fantastic actor, excluding, of course, his performance in "Tropic Thunder."

But the point of this "perfection" is not Tom Cruise's performance. One line from the movie struck a chord with me. In his journal, Tom Cruise's character commented that the village of samurai with whom he was living and training spent the entirety of their day devoting themselves to the "perfection of whatever they pursue." As I was spending my entire Sunday amusing myself through movies, television, and video games, I figured I was doing a perfect job of that. But in everything else...

I think we say "Good enough" far too often. In modern America, I think "good enough" has replaced "perfect" as the new perfection. Standards have been lowered...and lowered...and lowered to the point where even average is exceptional. And that is so, so sad. I mean, I look around the building where I live, and bathroom signs are hung askew, typos and misspellings abound on fliers and posters, and ceiling tiles are half-falling out. Was perfection the goal in any of these things? Possibly. But was perfection attained? No. I realize there is a difference between things the samurai were working on (swordfighting, farming, cherry blossom-admiring) and the things I notice ("New dinner hours for the 'cafeferia!'").

I guess this can all be summed up by saying that I will try to become a better writer, a better employee, a better improviser, a better friend, a better person.

And honestly, "Josie and the Pussycats" could DEFINITELY have been a better movie.