Monday, November 26, 2007

On Mistakes

I'm being lazy and putting up something I wrote two years ago.

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No one ever sets out to make a mistake. It happens, due to ignorance, carelessness, foolishness. Mistakes remind us that we are not yet perfect. That we are not smart enough. That, perhaps, we are not as adult as we would like to believe.

I am a fool because I make mistakes. Because I trust in others. Because I believe in dreams. And it hurts if those dreams shatter, and I am left picking up the pieces. Sometimes, there are so many pieces that it is not worth the effort, and all you can do is walk away. And live a new dream.

The right thing to do with mistakes is to learn from them, and move on. Because each one teaches us something new. Ideally, each mistake should be the last of its kind, if we have learned the lesson. But then, we rarely do. We are what we are. One mistake, or even a series of them, rarely serves to change our character, to make us wiser. We continue in the same blundering way, making mistakes, hurting ourselves.

But I would rather be a fool than a knave. I would rather be fooled than fool. I would rather believe in others than stop believing in anything. I would rather make mistakes than be afraid to live. I am not worse because I am a fool. I am only more true, more trusting, more hopeful. I am a dreamer. The princess might have to kiss many frogs before one turns into a prince.

I am only human. After all, we all make mistakes.

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