Today’s song is ‘Perfect’. This a song by English singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran from his third studio album in 2017. After the album's release, it charted at Number 4 on the ‘UK Singles Chart’. The song eventually reached Number 1 on the ‘UK Singles Chart’ and on the ‘Billboard Hot 100’ in the U.S.A. in December 2017. ‘Perfect’ became the UK Christmas Number 1 song for 2017. It also peaked at Number 1 in sixteen other countries, including Australia, Canada, Ireland and New Zealand.
In March 2017, Sheeran broke the record set by Frankie Laine in 1953, by occupying all of the top five positions in the United Kingdom and placing nine songs in the top ten of the ‘UK Singles Chart’. Also, every single one of the sixteen tracks from his new album entered the top twenty. The song has literally won too many accolades to mention in this post.
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Whoever we are, everyone dreams of someday meeting and marrying the ‘perfect one’, but sadly we do not all achieve our dream. However hard we try to find the right one for us, circumstances often militate against to prevent us ever attaining our dream and discovering that state of perfect happiness and complete union with a soul mate.
Being in the right place at the wrong time, being with the right person at the wrong time, being with the right person in the wrong way or the wrong person in every way you ought not to be; each and all these circumstances will never provide the conditions of meeting Mr or Mrs Right.
All my life I have been a hopeless romantic who would frequently fall in love. I suppose that as a trusting individual who respects honest emotional expression that I have always made myself emotionally available to any woman of goodness with a wholesome lifestyle and honourable values. Sometimes, I find that I have given my heart too readily and on occasions (particularly where the relationship has been one of physical attraction more than romantic) I have not given my heart at all and have withheld the possibility of establishing an emotional bond.
All that I am trying to say, is that I have messed up in the relationship stakes as much as anyone else has, and probably more often than most of you. Where I may have prospered, however, like the Lottery slogan (‘You’ve got to be in it to win it!’), I have never withdrawn my ongoing participation whenever opportunity has presented itself.
During my life, I have known genuine love of a woman on many occasions and each of these relationships has been worthwhile are not regretted in the least. I have come to believe, however, that most relationships have a 'shelf life' and when that time comes that one person in the relationship changes attitude, behaviour and needs more than the other partner, that the shelf life of their continued happiness moves closer to the ‘sell-by date’ of the relationship. It is true that the older one is, and the longer one has been married, combined with other significant factors, may lead the couple in a marriage that has passed the ‘sell-by date’ to prefer to put up with eating stale bread instead of having no bread at all to digest. Such is perfectly understandable, being natural herd animals.
If however, you still search for that relationship of lasting love, you may be lucky to find it as Sheila and I have, but never fool yourself that any relationship is 'truly perfect'. The more perfect the relationship, the more difficult it is for outsiders to spot the flaws in it. There is no perfection in any relationship, as it is simply impossible for either person not to be found wanting in one way or another
I suppose that if any person in every relationship could offer their partner everything their partner desired, then the beauty of another person’s qualities would automatically become less visible to you. Were such perfect relationships possible, there would be no affairs, no divorces and infinitely less heartache caused by broken relationships?
All people are complex individuals, shaped by our total experiences and the moulding hands of our parental potters. Our parents, our family background and our overall experiences help form our characters and influence our lasting beliefs, more than any other man or woman ever could. We are each unique individuals; not clones of another. Even twins who share the same egg, differ in some major aspect of personality. We are all different people, whose best chance of finding lasting happiness within a relationship with another involves finding someone who is truly prepared to mentally, physically and emotionally share themselves with you in a spirit of love, truth, faithfulness, tolerance and understanding. It is a bonus if you find somebody who can occasionally leave some things unsaid and who keeps a flag of forgiveness to fly in their corner, wherever required.
Look not therefore for an angel or a goddess or a Superman or Superwoman in your partner, as you won’t find one. Instead, be doubly content with a woman of substance as I’ve defined and a man of mature goodness and wholesomeness. Such people will have wronged in the past but have since found the path of wholesomeness and goodness to walk. These are the ones to look for when seeking a partner.
I found my woman of substance in my wife, Sheila, and it is my fervent wish that every heart can find true love in the heart of another as we have. I dedicate today’s song to my beautiful wife. I love you, Sheila Forde. We may not be 'perfect' as individuals but our love for each other most certainly is. Bill x
Love and peace Bill xxx