Sunday, August 18, 2013

The Quest for Perfection

I played a lot of Nintendo growing up--before school, after school, after dinner.

I loved Nintendo.

Mario Brothers, Zelda, Castlevania; these were some of my favorite quest games.

The beauty of the Nintendo is its simple design. You put a game into the console. Hit start. You are ready to play.

Next to the start button, there is another button: reset

I've been thinking a lot about about this button:

RESET


I promise you I hit that reset button more times than the start button. Mostly, for the wrong reasons.

If you a play a game long enough, then you understand what it takes to get to the next level, reach the end.

Nothing is more frustrating than losing a life early on because of a mistake or bad luck. The amount of time I spent playing Nintendo, this happened often.

Instead of continuing onward, with one less life, I would bend forward from my Indian sitting position and hit the reset button, start all over. 

Clearly, I was a perfectionist.

Still am today.

As I continue to live my life, there are several instances of bad luck, poor decisions and (un)willingly mistakes I wish I could erase.

Of course, I no longer have a Nintendo.  Still, I wish sometimes that reset button was there to push.

You get the point.

Sometimes its seems easier to start all over.  Life is not perfect, far from it.

The only similarities between Nintendo and a human life is the start button. In life, there is no reset button you press and everything begins anew. It doesn't exist. For so long it did exist in my mind.

Until, now. 

What I have learned is to embrace life's imperfections. Life is not a Nintendo game. The quest of Zelda is entertaining, but the quest of life poses as a constant challenge. Some parts are entertaining.

A mistake doesn't end a life, it changes the course. The reset button is a cop out that offers few rewards. 

The one attribute life holds over the virtual world of Nintendo: people possess an unlimited supply of lives.

So do yourself the favor and stop wishing you could start fresh. Continue on the quest of imperfection. You may be surprised how far you will go.

Shit. 

I finally realize how far I have. 









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