The purpose of art is not to perfect it, but to allow it to perfect us. I heard this somewhere, possibly from Tai Chi teacher Adam Mizner.

It’s interesting then to wonder… if one is working to become a master at an art.. what does this mean? Perhaps it is less about learning how to perfect the art, and more about how to become perfected by it.

Learning to open, more and more, to the lessons that the work of art reveals. And in this way, in allowing one’s self to be refined and polished by the work at hand, the work at hand in turn becomes increasingly refined.

To become too fixated on the outcome, on the perfected masterpiece, is to become attached. It is to close off to the possibilities that may exist outside the scope of one’s narrow vision of what is perfect or possible.

It is to shut out the mystery. In a sense, it is to worship the image that one is working towards, rather than the wisdom that results from the work.

Something to keep in mind when envisioning the future, setting goals, and working towards them. The vision of an ideal, or perfection, is necessary, but only valuable to the extent that one is willing to let go of it, and open up to the perspective that perfection is already here, and now.