On Life Mistakes

“A life spent in making mistakes is not only more honorable but more useful than a life spent doing nothing.” (George Bernard Shaw)

I raised my brow a bit reading this quote. Not because I disagreed or anything, but because I have firsthand experience of what it means to spend your spare time making mistakes. I am of the same opinion of Shaw when he said that it could not be compared with a dull, bland lifetime that you spend in living a blameless life. However, I have to remind you that learning experiences derived from making mistakes is not a route that I recommend for all people. It could be uncomfortable, painful or even destructive for some people.

Why ? Someone might be tempted to ask. I believe that basically people are different in personality, - and ultimately, destiny. Some people with a certain type of personality tend to make a lot of mistakes as a part of growing process. Others, on the other hand, just seem never to fall into the same trap. My brother falls neatly into this category. No matter how complex his situation seems to be, he instinctively chose the most correct options. Now, this may be a bit as trivial as avoiding a juvenile fistfight, or more profound life decision such as deciding not to smoke tobacco.

Being on the other pole, early on in my life, I made a point about committing all the mistakes there were and learning ( sometimes a very long process; the learning part, not the making mistakes one ) from them. Am I now being regretful ? Not really. Yes, there are one or two decisions that I wished I could undo from my past ( I even dreamt about pressing Ctrl + Z for them ), but overall I also believe that I could not be in a position where I am now had I not committed them. In other words, I may not be a writer I am now, or a father of three adorable angels I now have; if I lived as holy as my parents would like. And I am thankful now. For what I am and what I have now; and for the mistakes that I made. I am made a better man through them by the God that I believe.

Not to say that my experience is without tears of course. These days, I pray as hard as I could that someday I can be back from a medical lab and coming out negative somehow. I still have that haunting nightmares of leaving my children earlier than expected because of HIV. But I am content for now. As twisted as it may sound, having the virus carries some certain blessings of its own. People shower me with attention they even fight about who of them is gonna drive me for an interview. I thank you all. I am convinced that this condition is a venue where ( if I allow it ) I could stand up, hold my head up high and give something back to my environment and community.

So to get back to the original quote; yes, a life spent making mistakes most likely would be more useful than life spent doing nothing; with one catch : not always.