We really are hard on each other and I keep getting stuck on the idea, or false notion, or whatever some might call it, that we should be more forgiving of others unintentional errors and mistakes. Well, can you even call it a mistake if it wasn’t done on purpose? Maybe I should invent a new word….maybe not!
A long time ago I was on my way to teach a class at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. My kids were young, I was flustered, I was driving through rush hour traffic when I managed to get caught in one of those long pile-ups where people bash each other in the rear end…of their cars.
The police officer was not a happy camper and treated me as if I had just robbed a bank. Being a Radish, I had to say something. “Do you think we all did this on purpose? That’s why they call it an accident.” He actually stopped for a moment and smiled, but just a little.
I see life as a kind of forever learning expedition. We change and grow and make mistakes and sometimes those mistakes hurt people and sometimes they are also misinterpreted. We can tell the difference between intentional badass things and unintentional human errors. We can…if we try hard enough.
No one knows or will ever know us like we do. I say apologize, even if it wasn’t intentional, tip your head back into the wind and let it all go. Let’s be nice…we are only human! And forgive yourself too..I know you are a sweetheart.
