Few things in this world reach perfect little package status, though, arguably there are some that come pretty darn close.

A kiss on the cheek, for example? Is a kiss on the cheek the highest form of affection? When not used to say goodbye forever to a former friend or lover (or some other manipulative manifestation of power), does it come without agenda and without expectation? Is it a gentle gift that expects no return squeeze as a handshake? Less demanding than a more passionate kiss, does it offer affection more freely? Or as in a hug, does it transmit more to the receiver as a one-way offering of love? A one-sided hug is a sad thing. A kiss on the cheek, however, as a one-way-street-sort-of act, is solely a gift from the giver?

Regarding quotidian realms: there is always time and space for a kiss on the cheek? Aboard a crowded train? Or bus? In a tight seat on an airplane? Quickly in passing in the kitchen? In the hallway? Without contract for some greater or escalated lust or consummation? From behind the receiver in a flickering moment? It requires the receiver not even feel the transmittal of love and communication? It is, unto itself, a selfless act of giving?

Is it always flattering? In a crowd? Or an empty room? In private? Or in public? If it were a fruit, it just might be as perfect as a banana (like that one, there), comes as-is, in-and-of-itself, as a self-contained, tidy little gift of sustainability – of love, life, and grace? Is it the only form of public affection (besides hand-holding) always accepted both in the contexts of morals and ethics? Have I ever heard anyone mutter something negative about witnessing someone give another a kiss on the cheek? Is it a gift of presence? Of being in the moment, grateful, and unashamed to express it? Perhaps a singular mode of unselfishly expressing our love for someone in the moment we feel it most?

What a simple and superior thing.