Chapter 7
A Willingness to Make Mistakes
“Freedom is not worth having if it does not connote freedom to err.” – Mahatma Gandhi
"The perfect is the enemy of the good." – Voltaire
Perfection is a state far too expensive to achieve. Perfection is elusive, evasive, and dynamic, and yet we still strive for it. Striving for perfection can be a good thing, but only in the right measure. This striving, tempered with a pragmatic and realistic understanding and acceptance of the imperfect perfection of the human condition, can surely lead to greatness – but only when tempered with that understanding, and with a willingness to fail.
Mistakes lead us to try new avenues, to change our thinking, to set aside what hasn't worked. An unwillingness to make mistakes leads only to perfectionism and being imprisoned in the hellish place of inaction.
Attainment of our goals requires more than mere intent. An intent is always a future state. Attainment requires an active participation in the stream of life. “Ask and you shall receive”, yes, but only if your hands are open. We actualize and create open hearts and open hands only through our actions.
The Law of Attraction, then, while absolutely true, is not the whole of the laws that govern life here on earth. We must be active participants in our fates, co-creators both in and of this world.
I'm not, by the way, discounting the unlimited power of miracles. Indeed, to one who has evolved to sufficient faith, absolutely anything is possible. But for the rest of us, well, our faith needs some 'teeth' and this comes through participating, through exercising our wills, through feasting on the bounty of life, not merely through wanting, dreaming, wishing, or intending.
Active bliss is a wonderful state of walking the path of life – not the path 'to' life, but the path 'of' life. We're alive, living, learning, and evolving. Our willingness to take the next step, to make mistakes, to stumble or be harmed, gives us the ability to take that next step.
All but the completely evolved and ascended masters make mistakes. And perhaps even they made some mistakes on their path to utter enlightenment. What makes you any different? Are you somehow above making mistakes? If so, why? Pride, self-judgment, perfectionism, or just plain fear?
In truth, the reason really doesn't matter all that much. What matters is the willingness to be afraid, to be lost, to be confused, to be human, and yet still, in the midst of all these 'imperfections', to be willing to take another step, to be willing to make mistakes, to vigorously and wholeheartedly embrace failure and walk anyway.
• What's holding you back today?
• What is the worst that could happen if you make a mistake?
• Looking back, in retrospect, can you see how some of your “mistakes” have actually been significant blessings?
• Are you willing to learn from your mistakes?
• Will you set aside your pride today and risk embarrassment?
• Isn't today a great day to begin a new journey?