Mistakes: Our True Teachers of Life
Only Humans Have Potential to Be a Buddha
Mistakes and failures are the true teachers of life. It is only through mistakes that we learn life’s lessons; we grow, we mature, and we realize better ways to do things, better methods of success in life.
Humans make mistakes; hence humans have the potential to be a Buddha! If we don’t fret about our mistakes or those of others, we can treat each of them as a step to higher possibilities. With mistakes, we learn to stand firm, and prove we can do things better!
Who in this world has not made a mistake? Our mistakes only tell us the reality that there is always room for improvement. As long as there is the existence of the individualized mind, we will make mistakes. The goal is to learn from them and then move on to the next step and finally to the point where all steps disappear into the silence of the universal mind.
Never Judge Yourself for Your Mistakes
The worst thing that we can do when we make a mistake is to judge ourselves. However, many times when we commit a serious mistake, it can create a deep-seated feeling of guilt and regret. This steals our natural happiness. Our mind droops. At this stage, it can be very difficult to pull out of our self-imposed prison.
The “Practice” of Forgiveness
A simple yet most difficult practice when we make a mistake is to consciously and lovingly practice forgiveness and unconditional love for our selves. Note that the word used here is “practice.” If a child does not fall when it first attempts to walk, the child never learns to walk. When we practice forgiveness, a time comes when it naturally manifests, and self-forgiveness just happens since we know “to err is human.” We know if we forgive ourselves, then someone else will forgive us. Remember the words of the Master Jesus: “Forgive and thou shall be forgiven.”
The Universe Is Constantly Forgiving Us
Forgiving comes from our deep understanding. The universe is forgiving us all the time for our own innumerable mistakes, whether we commit them knowingly or unknowingly. We trample on many living insects without knowing their pain. We hurt people, often without having the slightest idea of the impact of our actions, our attitudes, our words or our own ego. Yet the universe allows us infinite chances to improve, to scale greater heights of conscious awareness so that we can discover and experience true joy of life.
Morning and Evening Practices
Morning is the time to resolve that even though we may have made the same mistake in the past, this time instead of self-criticisms and frustrations we are going to take deeper breaths, keep calm and be mindful of the little chores of daily life, doing them consciously. We will try to not feel agitated in any stress-filled situations. They occur because we need to learn things can be done better. Once we learn, the stress will not occur again.
One of the great Himalayan Masters, Baba Lokenath (1730-1890) was asked this question by a seeker: What practice can make us a true yogi, although we are in the mundane world of materialistic attachments? Baba Lokenath replied, “At bedtime, when you are done for the day, sit quietly, and see in a flash back what have you done throughout the day, your good actions are your earnings, and your negative actions are your expenditures.
Resolve to Not Make the Same Mistakes
Resolve that next day with similar situations you will not commit the same mistakes and expend your positive energies, so that you have more earnings than spending. Baba Lokenath makes it very clear that there is no space for self-condemnations. Yet, we need to be awake to recognize where we are creating our own problems, and that we need to untangle them in the future.
The practice in the spiritual world is one of awareness and awakening. So, the more we practice meditation, watchfulness of our thoughts and actions, and take baby steps towards a mindful life, we will have so much to be happy about. Life is a moment-to-moment gift to us provided we are conscious about it.
Trust in Our Indomitable Spirit
Yes, life is full of tests, but when we look back and impartially observe them we find that such hurdles only helped us to realize our inner potential. And even more importantly, we can see how an unseen force helped us to move forward to scale the next peak and we begin to have deeper trust in that power.
As we begin to trust that we are not alone in this universe, nor were we ever alone, nor shall we be alone, we discover our undying indomitable Spirit is ever with us. Our Spirit is leading us toward the eternal home, toward the Light that shines forever and love that flows perennially, like a flowing creek, toward the sea.
