Learn from your mistakes

A humorous story has it that a newly appointed young clergy

person was contacted by a local funeral director to hold a

graveside service at a small country cemetery in Iowa. There was

to be no funeral, just the committal, because the deceased had no

family or friends left in the state.

The young pastor started early to cemetery, but soon became lost.

After making several wrong turns, he finally arrived a half-hour

late. The hearse was nowhere in sight and cemetery workers were

relaxing under a near-by tree, eating their lunch.

The pastor went to the open grave and found that the vault lid

was already in place. He took out his book and read the service.

As he returned to his car, he overheard one of the workers say,

“Maybe we’d better tell him it’s a septic tank.”

Why is it we make our biggest mistakes in public? And some people

can’t avoid it…former hockey goalie Jacques Plante wonders,

“How would you like a job where, if you made a mistake, a big,

red light goes on and 18,000 people boo?”

But we should never give up our right to be wrong. Good judgment

comes from experience and experience comes from bad judgment. It

is your right to be wrong. “No (one) ever became great or good

except through many and great mistakes,” said William E.

Gladstone. Great mistakes are opportunities for great learning.

And great learning makes for great living.

You have a right to be wrong. And if you are to build a great

life, you have a duty to make great mistakes. If possible, laugh

at them. Always learn from them. And try to make sure your next

mistake is one you haven’t made before!

Posted by Priya Deelchand