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Open letter to my son -- and myself.
Jan. 3rd, 2009 03:57 pmIt occurs to me, as I reach toward something like wisdom in my aging, is that it is okay to be wrong. And this is something, my son, that I would love you to realize. It's more than okay to be wrong, in fact. Trying to always be right, to never make a mistake, is setting foot on a very rigid path where nothing is explored or tried, because heaven forbid it turns out wrong along the way.
It also occurs to me that the biggest gift a parent can give a child is the freedom to make mistakes. To be wrong. To not beat oneself up over little or big mistakes, but to take each mistake, each wrong step, and make it into a learning experience. How else does one grow into a better, wiser person? And isn't that the goal in life? To evolve? Otherwise we're stagnant, untested, and stuck in a place that most likely isn't the best place we could be. Do not lock yourself into a rigid point of view, seeing the world only in black and white. IMO, a rigid point of view is brought about by an extreme fear of being wrong, of fear that the whole world and self would fall apart if looked at too closely. From dust and ruin, great things can arise.
It also occurs to me that the biggest gift a parent can give a child is the freedom to make mistakes. To be wrong. To not beat oneself up over little or big mistakes, but to take each mistake, each wrong step, and make it into a learning experience. How else does one grow into a better, wiser person? And isn't that the goal in life? To evolve? Otherwise we're stagnant, untested, and stuck in a place that most likely isn't the best place we could be. Do not lock yourself into a rigid point of view, seeing the world only in black and white. IMO, a rigid point of view is brought about by an extreme fear of being wrong, of fear that the whole world and self would fall apart if looked at too closely. From dust and ruin, great things can arise.
