Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Misteaks R Wunnderful Oppertoonities 2 Lern

I once had a t-shirt with that great message. I loved it. I wore it 2 shreds. It started many a lively conversation and often provoked the giggles. It helped me remember not 2 take myself 2 seriously. Occasionally I wore it for my piano students, especially the ones who were paralyzed by fear.

We are sometimes hard on each other about misteaks, especially when we feel we have been wronged. We hang on to our hurt feelings much 2 long and use them as a stick to beat each other up. We may not talk about our feelings, we just carry them around and like a cloud they cover the sunshine and darken our days. We lose so much when we judge each other in this way. We lose clarity, we lose energy, and we lose closeness.

We are especially hard on ourselves when we make misteaks. We drain our energy by dwelling on the “what ifs” and endlessly rethinking ourselves. We may carry an invisible backpack 2 hold this negative energy and 2 store those pesky misteaks. When going through tough times that negative energy weighs us down and those misteaks are there 2 haunt us. Even when things are going great, old misteaks can nag us and cast their shadows of doubt. What does it cost us 2 carry this baggage? It costs us confidence, vision, and growth.

We all hate 2 make misteaks, but after all we’re human. Life is full of choices. With every choice comes a chance 2 mess up. Misteaks come in all shapes and sizes. Some are important, some are silly. Some misteaks are huge and other are miniscule, but most are not life-threatening. With every misteak comes a chance to lern. With every misteak comes a chance to choose again. With a little care, we can lern from our misteaks. We can choose to grow. We can move on with confidence.

When our misteaks cause damage, we must do what we can to repair. Some things can be repaired and others cannot. When the repair is beyond our ability, we must trust a higher source to do what we cannot. Some repairs take time. Let us be patient with ourselves and with others in the repair process. Let us not judge ourselves and others harshly. Let us be gentle with others. Let us be gentle with ourselves.

Is it time to let go of that negative energy? Shall we open our backpacks and take one last look at what we are carrying there? Can we examine each misteak in the light of day and let go of old debris? If an old misteak still needs attention; if there is some repair still needed, then attend to that, with promptness and care. With a breath of kindness, blow all the rest away.

Perhaps in your backpack you R also carrying old hurts from another’s misteak. R you ready to let go of old pain, old sorrow, old judgment? What is it costing you to carry it? Is it worth the price? A warm wind of change is blowing just now. Let it blow through you and carry away those sorrows. R you ready? Let go. Let it all go.

Misteaks R wunderfull oppertoonities to grow. I’m ready to grow. R you?

Linda Garner

2 comments:

Carolyn V. said...

Linda, what awesome words! You're right we all have so many misteaks (that's hard to write! How did you do that?)

I'm glad you deal with mind. =)

Anonymous said...

I love your posts, Linda. They are always so beautiful and creative.

I hold on to too many of my own "misteaks" and need to let go. I love the idea of a warm wind blowing away all the rest.