WHILE IN THE MIDDLE OF CHITCHATS among my friends, someone accidentally mispronounced a certain word and of course you already know what happened next---everyone bursted into laughter and mocked at the mistake! It is certainly a normal thing among friends, even within the family. If you are too naïve, you’ll break into tears for sure. I am also guilty of teasing others for petty mistakes, just for fun I guess, nothing personal. But honestly, I don’t see that mistakes are being taken this lightly nowadays by most people. What I’m seeing right now are perfect human beings crashing the life of someone who just committed a mistake…just a mistake.
When I was still a teacher, I had never expected my students to be perfect, because I am not a perfect teacher as well. I have dealt with some problematic kids and was even involved in their mishaps. Now, I can’t clearly remember how I’ve handled each hopeless incident, but what I know is that I’ve never condemned any of them. But regardless of my efforts to help a student get up and stood with pride again, there will be these people who would still look at him with judging eyes. From this, I saw how a person can be easily labeled by the mistake he committed…and life will never be the same from there on.
And that’s why I should never commit a mistake.
I would always offer the best hand (like everyone else) on everything that I do, even if sometimes I don’t actually like it, I would still put my best efforts on it. But life will surely play tricks on you, and in just one slight move, you’ll get surprised that you already made something unacceptable. It is frustrating to be at fault, but even more exasperating to be condemned because of that single error. I have experienced this predicament a lot of times. No matter how good you are, regardless of how much you have contributed and how reliable you are to others, the moment you slip, every single good deed that you have done in the past will be washed-out completely. Now, what you are is just a great blunder.
Are we better at throwing rocks than uttering words of praises?
It seems so easy for us to give lengthy remarks over a minor mistake, than offer a single word of compliment for a job well done. I don’t know if our egos are being shattered by every commendation that we will release, that we would rather dwell on the lapses more, because in doing so, we are satisfying our self-worth. Mistakes are being tinted so they will become more noticeable, while the accomplishments are just collected and buried so no one would see. How pitiful is the life of a person who is ridiculed for an ounce of error sitting on his left hand, rather than be recognized by a bushel of achievement resting on his right?
Can't we divert our focus on the positive things?
It hurts to see people trying so hard to avoid making mistakes. They are actually preventing themselves to learn the true value of what they are doing. Life without mistakes is not life after all. Mistakes are inevitable, but that’s the beauty of it; you cannot avoid it so you must face it and eventually learn from it. I have once been afraid of committing a mistake, maybe because I don’t want to look like a catastrophe to rest of the world. But then I saw the purpose of it, and that’s when I decided to be brave and commit more mistakes in the future.
I make mistakes and I’m proud of it.
Now I’m truly living my life. Those mistakes that I’ve done in the past, and the future boo-boos that I’ll be making in the future, made me and will make me a better person. I’m no longer scared of those judging eyes and will be unmoved by the foul comments, for I believe that these mistakes are the fruits of my pursuit to learn about life, and for sure, I will encounter more as I move out of my comfort zone. In the end, I know that He is there to catch me as I stumble upon the stones. He will lift me up and give me another chance to walk the road without stumbling for the second time.
We must all give one another a second chance.
You are not perfect…and please be ashamed if you think you are, because nobody is. You may now be running this road smoothly, but there will come a time that you’ll get tripped and the wound will be so deep you’ll scream in pain. Don’t wait for that time to come that others will mock at you, just like what you did to them before. Never humiliate or ridicule a person for a mistake he committed, because what you are doing is more than stripping off his clothes, it is like stabbing him to death. We don’t co-exist to make life miserable for one another, but to help each other grow and enjoy the beauty of life. All we need to offer is an ounce of understanding, and that will result to tons of great possibilities.
It is truly difficult to live this life, but we can make it easier for one another. We are all born different; some are highfliers, while some must strive hard to reach the top. But whatever we are, let us live with a loving heart and we shall be perfect in His eyes.
Cheers to our beautiful mistakes!
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