I used to hate making mistakes
I tried to avoid them at all times
Mistakes in grade school were punished
Like something was wrong if I failed
I became adept at being perfect
Mistakes I wasn’t allowed to make
Because my mistakes were magnified
By those who had influence over me
I respected those much older
Who criticized, complained, and condemned
While I began to model my life
After those who professed to know all
I grew older, and experience I gained
With so much to do and so much to learn
I couldn’t keep from making mistakes
I tried so hard, but couldn’t avoid them
Soon, discouraged and overwhelmed I became
I shut off the valve of making mistakes
And along with it my aspirations and dreams
As well as all action I’d been taking
My growth was stunted, but I knew not
Stagnant I became, idling along
But finally free from mistakes and failure
And free from feeling the accompanying pain
But try as I might, I couldn’t get rid
Of this gnawing feeling deep in my heart
But I wouldn’t go back to where I was at
And feel the sting of failure from before
Stuck in limbo, no options at hand
Until I studied those who succeeded
I found they weren’t perfect like I had thought
They had failed much worse than me
For success is failure many times over
More than most are willing to bear
Each failure a clue, the next step on the path
Showing the way dreams can be crafted
Each master was once a disaster
Willing to fail surprisingly fast
Knowing from that he’d learn what to do
What cannot be learned anywhere else
Back to my mistakes I humbly went
Wincing at first, but then accepting
Growing thick skin, becoming unphased
My imperfections I came to love
What I once had seen as poison darts
Piercing my heart and crippling my will
Are now wads of paper, bouncing right off
As I pick them up to see the lessons written
–Jason Westlake
Sun, Feb 11, 2007
