I was nominated for the freestyle writing challenge by threehandsoneheart. Exceedingly nice of her to do so. Thank you.
To summarize the rules, you have 5 or 10 minutes to write about the prompt given by the person who nominates you. My understanding is that you aren’t supposed to edit at all, which is shamefully typical for me. The full list of rules can be found at threehandsoneheart’s site, in the link above.
I don’t like nominating specific people for these things. I have complexes that make me uncomfortable when I try to be familiar with people when I’m unsure how they feel about me (assuming they feel anything at all). (It takes me a long time to feel comfortable using someone’s name to him/her.) So, like the last time I did one of these, I nominate anyone who feels like giving it a go. I’ll give you a topic to write about at the bottom of this post. You aren’t supposed to look at it until you’re ready to start the timer. I guess the point is you have no time to think about what to say and no chance to organize your thoughts.
Well, here’s my go.
The topic was:
Describe the perfect day. Put in as many details as you can. Make it a possible day, not a “dream day.”
alright, well I’ve sort of talked about this before, but it was more of a dream day than a, currently, possible day.
A possible perfect day is a topic I don’t have much to say about. I don’t mind most of my days. A single perfect one is unimaginable to me. It would look no different from an average day. My problem is stupid; short term happiness is essentially irrelevant to me. Short term happiness is fine, but it’s typical. It’s easy. It’s the small things that happen all the time. It requires nothing. I enjoy those moments, but all i have to do is let them happen. Imagining a hypothetical perfect day made of those moments is difficult. I have no concept of perfection, really. But less semantically, I don’t care for a perfect day. A perfect day shouldn’t be some idealized situation. Why not destroy the concept of a perfect day in order to appreciate the typical? Sure, there will be ups and downs in a non-perfect day, but I rather like that idea of that more than a day with superficial joys filling it.
For instance, a day spent with my niece is near perfect, but the day itself is a mess. She, being less than a year old, has little concern for my plans or desires. That I want her to roll me a ball, eat her brunch/lunch/afternoon pre-dinner is inconsequential to her. And I rather like that.
Same goes for any other hypthetical perfect day. There are lulls and annoying parts. Trying to eliminate those moments is a waste of time.
There’s also a difficult distinction to make between the perfect day in terms of pleasures and in terms of “higher” pursuits (anyone a hedonist?). Could a perfect day be perfect without hours spent reading some high falutin philosophy book? (anyone read about hedonists?) What about without spending time with your best friends? But what about family? What about a perfect date? No matter how perfect it tries to be the perfect day will be lacking something important. In my perfect day, do I wake up as early as possible to cram in the most activities or do I sleep in and enjoy the rest? Which is perfect? Either I’ll miss part of the day, or I won’t be fully rested.
I guess I’m just playing with meaning like an asshole. The most perfect possible day is something I can talk about, but maybe I just don’t like the idea. My perfect day doesn’t really exist. The truth is, this topic caught be at an inopportune time. I was just writing about tragedy in the world (because of Saul Williams*), thinking about the principle of equal consideration (again), and read Raymond Carver earlier today. Needless to say, the darker aspects of life are on my mind at the moment. That is to say, I’m putting a high value on meaning and less on happiness/joy, right now. I’m considering the uncomfortable thought of writing on a computer and listening to music in a temperature controlled apartment while genocides are occurring. While children and parents and love is dying. Passively dying off and actively being murdered.
Welcome to my mind. I’m sorry you had to visit. It’s not usually pleasant and I don’t know if I want to change that. (TIMES UP) I don’t think I do. I want to figure out how to fill life with meaning rather than moments.
Number of words: 551
Alright. There it was and I feel like an ass. It was a simple topic. I could have talked about waking up to donuts, hash browns, eggs and orange juice at my best friends apartment. Driving to see my niece and family. Going to the park, then out for lunch (though logistics do get in the way in terms of how this would work out in real time with napping and feeding schedules). I don’t know why I don’t just do it that way. For some reason talking about those activities in that way makes them undesirable. I really don’t know why. Maybe it’s because it somehow makes them less in tune with reality in my head. The bad parts of life have value, to me, and trying to eliminate those moments makes everything feel fake. I’m rambling.
If you feel like taking part in this – and how could you not after my joyous contribution? – I’ll give you a prompt here.
Ready the timer (or look at a clock) and your topic is…
Is there something you’ve dreamt of doing for a long time? Why haven’t you done it?**
* Here is a link to the song I was referring to when I mentioned Saul Williams.
** The question is taken from HERE
Crumbles Away 
I’m sorry to have caught you at a bad time, but I am glad that you decided to play! 🙂
Haha, don’t worry about it. I had fun doing it.
A bad time is most of the time for me! 😛
I really like how your answer wasn’t “waking up to donuts, hash browns, eggs, and orange juice”. I can relate to the inability to imagine a perfect day. Also, this is super random.
Haha, yeah it is pretty random.
Thanks for reading!