This is What I have Found: “Perfection” Never Existed

I have spent more than a half century of my life to find “perfection” in this life. However, so far I have found “no perfection” ever existed in this life, in this living, in this universe.

The simple reason is because “perfection” only exists when life becomes “non-existent”, or life is the opposite of perfection.

I found out that the best word for my understanding of ” perfection ” is “accepting things as they are“, not as I want.

Eleborate….

If I want to fix everything into perfection, then I found myself I am just trying to “catch the wind”, meaning I am trying to fix something that not only I cannot, but more something that I will never fix. Moreover, it is a matter of fact that there is nobody in this world that can fix anything into perfection. Everything in this life is imperfect.

For so long, I have said to myself and to people, “this is the best way, if not they only way to …..”, but some years later, I found out and humbled myself to realise that actually I was nobody and I am nobody and I will be nobody.

Now I realise that from now on, I should avoid to think and use words that contain the element of “defined” or “perfected” state of reality or matter.

Today we have many Melanesians, particularly in West Papua coming up with various discourses and comments on how to

  1. develop strategies and techniques to build West Papua to become more modern;
  2. develop strategies and techniques to free West Papua from Indonesian occupation
  3. develop strategies and techniques to free West Papua from terror, intimidation, land-grabbing, deforestation, extraction industries, and murder in West Papua

Yes, I know these issues are not only applicable for West Papua and Melanesians but they also apply to almost all indigenous peoples around the world.

Indigenous Peoples’ Hope for Perfection and the Reality

We indigenous peoples of the world have a big gap in reality between “what we want to achieve” and “what we have today”; between “what we know about the life before foreigners came and the life today after they came.” We start our story of “imperfect” life by going back to colonial history, slavery, decolonization, neocolonialism and liberation and nationalism.

This is what we think we can do

We think that if we had our own nation-stated called “The Republic of West Papua” then we will live in peace and harmony with each other and among all communities of beings.

We think that when Indonesia is out from West Papua we will have total freedom to express our will, wish and aspiration. Just by looking at East Timor, Papua New Guinea and Indonesia, I can quickly deny that this is a bad dream, because this is not realistic and will not become a reality in a free and independent Republic of West Papua.

For simple reason, the story of modern nation-states imposing bans, restrictions on freedom of assembly and freedom of expression are very common. Many restrictions are imposed on Indonesian people today to express the peoples’ will. Not only that, we know more Indonesians killed by Indonesian armed forces and police within 74 years compared to the number of Indonesians killed by the Dutch Colonial Government for 350 years. Yes, an independent state of Indonesia has killed more Indonesian citizens than the amount that foreign colonial power have ever killed.

We know more than 500,000 Melanesians in West Papua were killed by Indonesian police and army who at first place ever claimed freeing Melanesians in West Papua from the Dutch colonial power. In fact NONE ever been killed by the Dutch colonial power who occupied West Papua since 1811 – 1960.

This is What I have Found: “Perfection” Never Existed

We think it is only indigenous peoples that have the big gap between hope and reality. But in fact, “all humans” and it is better to say, “all life” are in fact inherently “imperfect”. There are many very rich people who suffer from various mental diseases, emotional problems, spiritual instability. These make them realize that having a lot of material goods is not the solution for life.

Some people say that modern people are better off compared to tribal people, but the matter of fact today, I can confidently declare that this is not true, totally untrue.

Many people say that the more you have material goods, the more you are happy. This is truly untrue.

Many people say that I will get married only after West Papua gains its independence from Indonesia. This is a statement of “self-punishment”.

Many people say that

This is what I am doing after this “enlightenment”

  1. I am accepting things as they are without complaint, without comment.
  2. I am thankful with what I have, no matter less, no matter more.
  3. I tell myself, “enough is enough!” and welcome and embrace anything that comes and goes, with joy, with thankfulness, and with no comment

This life is not perfect, that lives before and after this are not perfect either. Perfection only arrives at the terminal called “compromise” and “accept” what is possible, and then “thankful” for it.

That does not mean

That does not mean that you cannot tell me about your reality of “perfection”, because I do not want to say about “perfection” by not giving you to disagree or to agree.