Embracing Failure

I’ve been thinking about how much life is like making pots.

You spend most of your time trying to make that idea in your head into a real thing you can wrap your hands around. Searching for the perfect job, the perfect relationship, the perfect house… the perfect pot. After much work, you get what you wanted, but it wasn’t what you expected… it turns out that the pot you get out of the kiln isn’t much like what you had in mind. Or after you think you've got it, something goes wrong. This form flew off the wheel while I was trimming it. It had been perfectly round. Now my choices were to toss it into the reclaim pile or... square it!

After struggling for years you have a moment of perfect understanding and peace… you sit at the wheel and make gorgeous pots effortlessly… and then the moment is gone.

I’ve learned that life, like making pots, is about embracing failure. Not being afraid to fail frees us to spread our wings a bit farther, push the clay a bit more… it might collapse… or it might yield a beautiful pot!

So it is with life. Looking back I see how fear kept me from much joy. I am learning to be fearless now!