Wednesday, August 14, 2024
Humans are fallible, and in some ways our failings are what make us endearing. But in other ways our shortcomings are the source of personal irritation and frustration, so much so that it is sometimes hard to appreciate the lesson life is teaching us.
We recognize the good Lord who created us humans gave us a higher intellect than other creatures. With that intellect comes a level of responsibility, which the lower animals do not have. Wait a minute — that may not be entirely fair for when the lower animals make a mistake in judgment, the price they pay is usually their life. For example, when a small fish exercises poor judgment and swims near the surface of the lake in clear sight of the bald eagle resting in a neighboring treetop, the fish’s poor judgment is violently confirmed when the eagle dives in and swoops the fish out of the water making it the “catch of the day.” With our greater degree of brainpower, we humans can make a wider variety of mistakes than just swimming too close to the surface. Fortunately, most of the mistakes we make in a civilized society are not paid for by sacrificing our lives like the fish in my example, though occasionally we feel so remorseful about a mistake we might wish we could die.
Stop and think about the absent-minded, lackadaisical, silly mistakes you have made over the course of your life. The mistake that may come to mind for some could be marriage to a certain ex-spouse. Admittedly, in some instances a bad marriage can be a huge mistake. But I am referring to the everyday “dealing with life mistakes” - like pulling your vehicle into oncoming traffic and not seeing the truck that hits your front quarter panel and spins you off into the ditch. Clearly, the oncoming truck was there, but for whatever reason, we simply did not see it; a mistake is made, and consequences result. If we are lucky, the mistake only costs us financially.
Then there is just plain, old absent-mindedness - like the time in graduate school when I thought my final exam was Wednesday. When I showed up to take the test, I learned that the exam had been administered the day before! I had gotten the date wrong! The stress and mortification I suffered until I could contact my instructor and beg her to allow me to take the test was excruciating. Fortunately, through the grace provided me by my forgiving professor, predicated on a promise I had not talked to anyone else who had taken the test and learned what the questions were, I did not have to repeat a whole semester of school. Reminiscing about the situation still makes my heart shudder thinking about how bad the consequences might have been. After realizing I had made a mistake, the worst part was trying to reconcile why I had made the mistake in the first place. What caused me to write the date down incorrectly? Why had I been confused? Did somebody else screw up and tell me the wrong date?
Yes, when a mistake occurs, it is human to attempt to deflect blame on someone or something else. Is there a logical explanation, which will absolve the blame or the consequences of the mistake? While on a rare occasion there is a legitimate explanation and the mistake is someone else’s fault, much more commonly the mistake is ours. The sooner we admit to the mistake and accept our failings, the quicker we can deal with the consequences and get back on track. The tragedy is not the mistake; the tragedy is the failure to learn from the mistake, rather than taking steps so it does not happen again and growing. Without mistakes, how would we learn and get better? Sometimes, it is hard to accept learning a lesson is a good thing: Like the time we printed last week’s date on this week’s paper. After some shame, embarrassment and aggravation, a lesson was learned and will never be forgotten. I bet we all learned a lesson this week, whether we liked it or not. It was probably a lesson worth learning
Thought for the day: Mistakes are like knives that either serve us or cut us, as we grab them by the blade or by the handle.
Until next time…I will keep ridin’ the storm out!
sam@hcnews.com
