“Sometimes we make mistakes and that’s ok.” Emmy Brown, age 3

So this is my first blog post and I have no idea what I’m doing. I’ve tried a lot of things in my life…some have worked, some haven’t, but somehow I managed to live through the failures and still get up every morning and make my kids breakfast.

One particular morning, Emmy wanted a bowl of peaches so I made her one. She proceeded to drop the bowl on the floor which shattered into a million pieces and peaches and peach juice covered the floor. I watched her eyes well up with tears and her tiny little lip started quivering. I scooped her up to get her out of the glass and she looked at me with these big eyes, looking for my reaction. I just said, “Emmy, are you ok?” She apprehensively said, “Yes, but mama….sometimes we make mistakes and that’s ok, right?” Oh my sweet dear child, yes…a million times yes. It took me hearing this from a 3-year-old to let it resonate in my own life. How many times have I made mistakes, beat myself up for it, been drenched in shame and guilt and was afraid to tell anyone lest you know…they know I’m not perfect.

Mistakes are inevitable. Mistakes are a way to learn. Mistakes are the building blocks of learning what not to do so you can do it better next time. EVERY HUMAN ON THE FACE OF THE PLANET MAKES MISTAKES. Why are you hiding in shame when you make one? You have two choices…let it define you and live in shame and guilt, or let it empower you and live in grace and compassion. I have made so many mistakes in my lifetime and for years, I let them define me and who I was. But now…I accept them with humility and say to myself, “You did the best you could at the time with the knowledge and self-awareness you had.” There is no way to show compassion to others if you first don’t start with YOURSELF. You are a perfectly imperfect being who is a soul having a human experience and every mistake makes you just that…HUMAN. I became weary of living in the shame and the guilt and I want to empower others to step out of the Shame Box and into the light where “sometimes we make mistakes and that’s OK.” Self-forgiveness is one of the most powerful gifts you can ever give yourself.

Action Item: What mistake can you forgive yourself for today?

Be yourself; Everyone else is already taken.

— Oscar Wilde.

This is the first post on my new blog. I’m just getting this new blog going, so stay tuned for more. Subscribe below to get notified when I post new updates.