This past week has been troubling for a couple of online friends in blog groups I belong to. I enjoy being in groups that offer a greater range of blogging than just pure travel, for the way that this extends my learning and knowledge, and sometimes I can offer support and encouragement, or even a bit of wisdom.
The internet is a wonderful media for bringing people closer. Sure there are downsides, but as with all human innovation, there are more upsides than downsides - otherwise we would never progress as humanity.
2 of these friends have had a hard time recently, and have written about their heartbreaking experiences, and many have offered support.
Life doesn't come with a Diploma Graduation course; you live it, you make heaps of mistakes, and you keep going back and doing it again.
Or do we?
A marketing guru once stated " I have never made a mistake!"
At the seminar I thought the arrogant twit was out of his tree over that. But then he went on to simply state that he learnt something from every mistake he made; every bad experience he took something out of it. So in the end he could look back and say he didn't make a mistake- he had a learning experience. Life is about learning. If we do not venture ahead, try new things, get involved in relationships, we do not learn.
And if we learn just one thing from a bad experience, then that experience becomes not a mistake - it becomes a learning experience.
Once I understood what this marketing guy said, life changed. I realized life was about making mistakes so I could learn. So going back into similar situations, I brought new knowledge with me this time around, so I could better deal with it.
So my motto now is - 'There are no mistakes- just learning experiences.'
When reading about my blogging friends experiences and then later while working, words flowed, and seemed to fit with melodies running through my mind, so I jotted them down.
Just steep learning curves.
But sometimes it must seem
Like we're falling backwards.
So when it comes to heartbreak
Don't lose your nerves.
We learn how far to goThen we go back again.
You gotta take what you can,
Learn the lesson, start again.You gotta move on, make a plan,
Love comes with some pain.
Well, there ain't no mistakes,
Just steep learning curves.
So when it comes to heartbreak,
Do we stop, look and learn?
Like a kid touching fire,
And recoiling in pain.
It's a hard lesson learnt
We shouldn't do it again.
You gotta learn what you can,
Don't be a fool for the pain.
You've walked out, but now
You're headed back there again.
Well, there ain't no mistakes,
Just steep learning curves.
But sometimes it must seem
Like we're falling backwards.
So what hurts us the most,
Teaches with the pain.
Have we learned how far to go
When we go back there again?
The above verse has been taken up by Michael Bannert and he's put it to music.
So to all my blogging friends facing life's problems, this is dedicated to you. I hope it helps.
23 comments:
Damn that pretty impressive. Your writing skills are really good. Have you always written but just started sharing them???
http://jpweddingphotograpy.blogspot.com/2011/09/photographing-our-road-trip-to-key-west.html
Mistakes in life..I think they built character..
This is so awesome Jim, Thank you so much for this. Thank you Michael Bannert for a wonderfully expressed and heartfelt rendition of Jim's verses. You are both grand.
It is a wonderful thing to have friends you've never met and can love anyway.
Thank you for the caring words.
Wow! Loved everything about this. Left comment on YouTube, posted to my FB page and Stumbled you. Very heartfelt and meaningful. Jim, you definitely should keep writing poems/lyrics and having them set to music.
Hi JIM, thanks mate.I was doing pretty good in class but I had 2 years secondary schooling. Family circumstances meant I was full time working when 15 years old, but my life has been learning in business.
Past 12 months I have been doing a travel writers course which has been a struggle in aptitude and attitude, but yeah, I guess writing skills have improved a wee bit with that.
Hi JIM, thanks mate.I was doing pretty good in class but I had 2 years secondary schooling. Family circumstances meant I was full time working when 15 years old, but my life has been learning in business.
Past 12 months I have been doing a travel writers course which has been a struggle in aptitude and attitude, but yeah, I guess writing skills have improved a wee bit with that.
Hi Alfandi, they build character as you say, if we learn from them... and then we should consider them not mistakes but a normal part of life experiences.
Hi Jan. Glad you liked this. Hope it helps support you.
Thanks Mari. Yes, been fooling around with words and lyrics and look what popped up.But kudos for Michael for picking the verse up and putting them to music and recording it. i was truly surprised to see he had done all that himself.
Hey Jim,
Thanks for the inspiration once again. I had many thoughts of you folk this week as many challenges faced us in Botswana and Kasane (with me in Pretoria trying to work remotely).
The folk involved have been through many trials, and this week was no exception. However, to welcome their smiling faces back to Jhb airport yesterday, reminded me how strong and resilient people can be in the face of disappointment and hardship, and act as a light and guide for others.
Be well, my friend, and thanks once again.
Yours is an amazing story of openness to learning and the poem sums it up so well. I'm so glad that Michael put it to song! Well done, Jim. Real proud to know you.
This is a nice way of putting it, but some mistakes I still think that are mistakes full stop, of course we should learn from them, but we should not try to call them by another name just to make ourselves feel better, especially when the impact of our 'learning curves' can be devastating on others. I prefer to strive to be strong and humble by using the proper word when it relates to myself... I don't always manage to do it, but I try.
Good luck to your friends :-)
A.
The words and the message of the poem fit the melody perfectly. You guys should collaborate more. I'm a fan!
Jim damn ths s great...i loved it...neva knew u write as well...
There r rare pieces which I just adore n ths s one f them...
Keep it up!!! N thanks fr ths..i will cherish it with me always!
Wow Jim, this is a great collaboration! I love the melody and it is very catchy! Well done guys!!!
Hi Alessandra, I feel that as long as we learn something from our mistakes, then it becomes part of the learning process to be a better person. Essentially this song is about no longer living with guilt. Throwing that off and getting on with life, being a bit wiser from the experience.
Hi Annon, that must be Russell. Glad you checked in. Would have loved to be back in Botswana helping you out.
Sign me on again!
Hiya Mani, glad you liked this and can take something from it!
Glad you thought so AJ. Watch this space - more collaboration coming.
I love your mottp 'There are no mistakes- just learning experiences.' It really is true. Thanks for reminding me of that fact!
Thanks Debbie. I think it's important that we accept we learn from our mistakes, and not to be scared to attempt things because we're scared of making a mistake.
Just part of learning about life after all.
Hey Jim,
Great post. Love this kind of creativity. I really love the poem and its message, and the collaborative effort turned out really nice. Would love to see more posts like this!
You never know Phil, could be more. Thanks and glad you liked it...we can only get better.
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