Wednesday, June 30, 2010

To Err Is Human...

You know the rest of that saying, right?

“To err is human, to forgive divine.”

I like to take that admirable adage a few steps further and say that admitting one’s mistakes, owning up to a shortcoming or just one bad moment is equally, if not more, important than forgiveness.

We all screw up, hence the above quote—we are all human beings so we are expected, at times, to do things poorly, say things in anger, misinterpret an emotion, or just plain boot a grounder at Fenway Park.

Mike’s keys to dealing with being human:

·        Cut yourself some slack—if you were a robot then all your problems would be solved with a new microchip or a good reprogramming.
·        Cut others even more slack—if we all have to jump in the pool and splash around in the muck, you do too!  Forgiveness is a two-way street.
·        When in doubt, send flowers—or at least send love.  Some people take longer to heal, are more sensitive, need time to get over whatever you did to make them so upset with you.
·        Learn from it—what’s the sense of being in the doghouse, groveling your way out, mending that fence you almost destroyed, if you just go back and do it again?  Messing up can build more character than succeeding, at times.
·        Watch this video:


I’m not saying that you should not always strive to do your best, just don’t take yourself too seriously.  Perfectionists are some of the most miserable people on the planet.  While, when you think about it, children are some of the happiest.  Why do you think that is?  Kids are always messing up, making mistakes, doing something they shouldn’t be doing.  Yet, most of them, look at these childhood blunders as part of growing up, and learn from them.  And youngsters are also some of the most forgiving creatures around, save for puppies.

“If you are not making mistakes, you are not trying, and if you are not trying you are not living.”

Sometimes life gets in the way of some of the things we want to accomplish.  There’s nothing you can do about it—it’s life!  Except react as best you can.   Sadly, sometimes we react in the worst possible way.  When that happens make the best of it:

·        Learn from it
·        Improve self
·        Value the experience
·        Earn back trust
·        Love
·        Inspire
·        Forgive
·        Enjoy

     365

Every day in every way.


Until next time…


peace,

Mike

16 comments:

Derek said...

Interesting post and video. I would like to share my insights if I may...

In my practice as therapist and Zen practitioner, I have found that forgiveness is the key that we often have to find through internal enquiry. Forgiveness is fascintating.. Very abstract, yet we know when we have forgiven, but cannot fathom exactly how we have done it! Sometimes we may even have to forgive our inability to forgive by accepting our resistance to do so.

Acceptance of self and other, exactly how we are right here and right now is the beginning of forgiveness and acceptance.

thegiftedman said...

Well written Mike.

It has taken my 45 years to come to the same conclusion.

You realise if the only taught this at school, it may have saved some of usa lot of angst. But then again it is probably something you just have to learn on life journey.

Nice blog, keep up the good work.

Dwacon said...

Striving for divinity.

Reanaclaire said...

Impressive post.. thanks for sharing..

Rod said...

Pride gets in the way, I can speak from experience. Sometimes we don't like what we see in the mirror, but you got understand and realize, life is too short to hold grudges.

Unknown said...

derek: excepting our inability to be what we so desire to be is one of the many keys to success in life...

thegiftedman: learning from the journey, while often painful and slow, is often the best teacher...

dwacon: strive, strive, strive...

reanaclaire: thanks for the visit...peace.

rod: forgiveness is a virtue, as is humility...peace, rod, thanks for dropping by...


peace,

mike

Jackie said...

Thought provoking post and video. Thanks Mike.

Tracy said...

So...someone picking up flowers and dinner on his way home from work, hmmmm?
All joking aside, though, I quite agree with you. To forgive someone can be difficult, but I think we find that after we've done so, the real burden was in carrying around the anger/resentment. We feel liberated once we've forgiven. In many cases, I think the forgiveness isn't for the other person who has done wrong, its really for ourselves. Plus,I think the difficult thing about forgiveness is that its not a single act; its a whole process.
Nice post!

suzen said...

Hi Mike! Perfection is best left to the Divine - I don't use it as some lofty achievement and that saves me a LOT of disappointment.
hugs
suZen

Anonymous said...

I love what you have to say. Forgiveness is something that we need to give and receive due to our human nature. No one is perfect, we all make mistakes.

It is so sad that there is so much unforgiveness in the world over small matters, while at the same time, the unforgiving person is often a bigger offender.

Jen said...

Great advice and might I add instead of reacting we should all simply respond.

Unknown said...

jackie: thanks for stopping by...

tracy: whole process, indeed...and you are so right, forgiveness helps both parties...

suzen: far from perfect, totally human, thanks, as always, for your kind, succinct words...

brokenblade: if we all forgave the world would be a better place...peace

jen: respond in the positive...


peace,

mike

happy said...

wow! as in two thumbs up mike. . .I love really love this article, I can relate on it and everything is true. I'll tell my friends about your livelife365 blog coz I know they can get something and it's worth to scan this time

Unknown said...

happy: thanks for the wonderful comment...forgiveness is a virtue that can change the world, and ourselves, for the better...peace,,,


peace,

mike

Anonymous said...

I just stumbled upon your blog, very nice. I think if we don't learn to forgive and forget it will eventually eat us up inside ultimately stunting our growth as individuals. Just my take on things.

I look forward to looking around here a bit. Thanks!

Unknown said...

So far I've read two of your posts and you've spoken to me with both of them. While I'm a very forgiving person when it comes to others, I seem to lack the ability to cut myself a bit of slack. It's really something I have to work on, so thanks for reminding me.
I enjoy your writing style and I'll be back to check out more of your work.