“Failure is your best teacher.” I do not know who said this, but I find it to be true. My growth has come more from my failures than my successes. Lord knows that I have had plenty of failures. Sometimes it takes multiple failures for the lessons to sink in.
In my younger days, I was terrified of failure. This Fear was so intense, that I missed opportunities, avoided relationships, and stunted my spiritual development. I find it easier now, thanks to my failures, to accept this as a part of being human.
While I do not like to fail or make mistakes, I have learned to handle them better. For example, I apologize when I am in the wrong. Even if I am not totally in the wrong, I can still apologize for my part. It may take me a little while to get there, but holding my ground and being angry with a situation only leads to resentment, which eventually leads to being a toxic person. I don’t want to live in such Darkness.
I am working on living a more contemplative life. I have heard this defined as “taking a long, loving look at the Real.” The “Real” means both success and failure. I need to take a “loving” look at my failures, accept them, learn from them, and use them to do the next Right thing.
I am not perfect. I will have my moments of pity, anger, depression, and impatience. Hopefully, by seeing these “failures” as lessons, I will not dwell in the Darkness for as long as I used to do, and I will better hear what God wants of me.
