Mistakes…

Happy Wednesday,

How are you all doing this fine Wednesday? Anything new and exciting to report? Keep those text and messages coming. I love hearing what you’re up to as well as your thoughts and opinions. Not too much new to report here. I think I’ve decided on the scooter I want. I just need to see how things play out over the next couple weeks then I’ll go from there. I attached a photo of it below. I think it’s pretty cool looking. What are your thoughts? I think it’ll be a good purchase for me. It will give me some freedom and at the very least I’ll be able to go to a few craft stores and enjoy cruising through them, maybe even buy something here and there.

I thought today I’d talk about mistakes. I was talking to a dear friend of mine this morning and yesterday for a bit and she was expressing how she feels she’s made a mistake and that she feels stupid. She then expressed that she knows I have it so much harder right now. I told her it really doesn’t matter what my problems are, or how hard my issues may be, her problems are just as difficult as mine. It’s all in how we look at things. Today, when we were talking I told her that the one thing that I’m learning to appreciate is that, I’m not alone and that knowing and hearing other people’s problems helps me appreciate the things I do have and it makes me not dwell so much on the difficult problems I face. There’s always a solution, it’s just finding it. I’m happy to say, I think she’s found here solution and she is so very fortunate to have a husband that supports her, instead of blaming her. That is true love and true friendship wrapped all up in one.

I know in the past I’ve talked about our failures being like a stepping stone. “There is no such thing as failure. Failure is just life trying to move us in a different direction.”-Oprah Winfrey. After talking with my friend, I think she knows she’s moving in the direction that is best, not only for herself, but for her family as a whole. I suppose the reason things have felt so out of sorts for her and her husband as of late, isn’t because they made a mistake, they were simply on the wrong path. “A person who never made a mistake, never tried anything new.”-Albert Einstein. I think after they came to the decision to change their course, they both feel so much better. I only wish nothing but the best for them as they navigate through the next few months. They’ll get to where they need to be because they are doing it together.

Making mistakes is a part of life. Without them, we wouldn’t be human. Making mistakes is life’s way of showing us and others we are trying. It’s funny, being raised a Witness, mistakes could come with a heavy price, even if you truly were sorry for what you did. I never understood how you could tell the elders how sorry you were for something, and they still could disfellowship you. It’s like they felt they have the power to read your heart. I’ve heard many activist lately talking about getting baptized at a really young age and now that they have “woken” up, they are shunned, not only by the religion and friends that they’ve had for most of their lives, but by family too. Most would agree that getting baptized at an early age was a mistake. They, we, were too young to go into a life long commitment.

In the Watchtower, no. 6, 2017, under the caption, “principals that can help reduce mistakes,” it makes this very clear point. “Mistakes arise from ‘faulty judgement, inadequate knowledge, or inattention.’ Wouldn’t you agree, making a forever commitment at the age of say, 9, 10 or even 16 and 17 is not allowing us to gain enough adequate knowledge? How can we truly understand the true affects of dedicating ourselves to an organization? Most of us at those ages are simply living in the moment. We aren’t thinking of all the consequences should we choose a different course. According to verywellfamily.com, it says, “for the most part, a 17 year old’s moods are calmer than they were in earlier teen years. This is due to fewer hormonal shifts and an increased sense of control. But that doesn’t mean a teen won’t struggle with their emotions when they face a big problem. So if a 17 year old is still struggling with their emotions, then how much more growing pains will a younger person face? Sadly, the organization is encouraging such young ones to get baptized and dedicate their entire lives to Watchtower. The two, very adult and grown up questions asked of each baptismal candidate, right before they are immersed in water before all onlookers at their conventions are, “have you repented of your sins, dedicated yourself to Jehovah, and accepted his way of salvation through Jesus Christ? Do you understand that your baptism identifies you as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses in association with Jehovah’s organization?”-OD book.

Notice in question 1. It right off the bat, asks if you are dedicating your life to Jehovah, or God. For some, they can make that choice and stick to it, but for others, this mistake being made at an age when they are still figuring out who they are is a costly one. If a young person or a grown adult who is finding their way in life decides to take a course other then one defined by Watchtower, they are cut off from all family and friends who are still in the organization. Why should anyone have to pay for their views when and if they change? If a person, however, chooses to stay in the organization and commits a wrongdoing, why is it that they are judged so harshly to the point of being disfellowshipped? I have a good friend who committed adultery. She was in an extremely abusive marriage and messed up and cheated. She not only begged her husband at the time, but the elders on her judicial meeting for forgiveness. She was still disfellowshipped and it took almost 3 1/2 years to get reinstated. A mistake was made, and the price doesn’t seem to fit the crime. She learned from it, she moved on and she showed genuine repentance, however, she was cast out “with the trash” as stated by and elder in one public talk I heard.

We are all human. We all make mistakes and if we learn from them, we are growing and learning. On lifehack.com, it says that mistakes are lessons and we can learn a lot from them. Mistakes “point us to something we did not know. They deepen our knowledge. They tell us something about our skill levels. Mistakes help us see what matters and what doesn’t. They teach us more about others, and help us recognize changing circumstances. They also keep us connected to what works and what doesn’t work. Mistakes remind us of our humanity. Mistakes promote compassion for ourselves and others. They teach us to value forgiveness.” When we make a mistake, we are invited to “make better choices.” Have you ever thought how when we make a mistake, it also can “serve as a warning?” Mistakes absolutely and should make us more humble. A mistake can “tell us when the time to move on has occurred.” Sometimes, perhaps, a mistake is really our mind and heart “revealing where our passion is and is not, maybe they even expose our true feelings.”

The point of mistakes is this. In my opinion they are a way of correcting us when we are on the wrong path. They are a way to help us learn and grow into better people. We want to own our mistakes. We want to ask for forgiveness when needed and most importantly, we want to learn from them. We can allow our mistakes to weigh us down and suck the life out of us or we can place those mistakes below our feet and use them as a stepping stone to be better, more loving and compassionate people. Whatever mistakes we’ve have made, I know this much, we can’t give up. “Freedom is not worth having if it does not include the freedom to make mistakes.”-Mahatma Gandhi.

I’m learning so much on my journey. I make mistakes. I’ve made some pretty big ones that I can’t fix, but I can learn from. I hope I never have the attitude that “it can’t or won’t happen to me.” I hope to never become so comfortable in my actions that I lose site of the life lessons I’ve learned and that I continue to learn. I am living my life trying to be as open and honest as possible. I’m trying to refrain from making excuses and instead, own my choices, good or bad. If I’ve ever done anything to hurt you or cause you any kind of pain, I hope you can forgive me. I hope I can recognize those things that I’ve done and not repeat them towards you or anyone else. Remember this my dear friends, we are all human and we all need those reminders that get us back on track to living the life that was meant for us. Those reminders are called mistakes, lessons and growing pains. Don’t let them weigh on you. Learn from them. Move on, and don’t forget, Love Life++