Give Up Sainthood

Give up sainthood, renounce wisdom,
and it will be a hundred times better for everyone. ~ The Tao

Perfectionism. Seemingly something to be sought,
to be cherished, to gradually attain, but no!
Perfection can be recognized not by advancement
but by its paralytic properties. It seems like something we want
but the tier concept, the levels of people (determined by us),
destroys the idea of excellence rather than creating it.
We perfectionists seek sainthood, and if we're fortunate
we leave the concept and the movement toward it
as detritus along the the path we choose.

Wisdom. Scholarly, learned, elite, erudite.
A person to be admired, one who ascends to the pentacle
of knowledge, of control, of mastery. What is wisdom
when we claim it but status, separation, a tier above?
Like perfection the urge to attain wisdom
has nothing to do with real wisdom, real excellence.
Instead, we seek recognition, admiration from our peers.
We're slaves to their opinions and to our efforts
to fool them to believing we're as we pretend.

No, Wisdom and sainthood are not to be sought.
Instead, we learn to surrender, to become real,
to grow into what we can be, forgetting our efforts
and what others think of us.

And sainthood? Wisdom? They may come
because we reflect not our efforts
but our essence, the manner in which
we were made.