These things that happen to us
Why do we call them failures or mistakes?
Why don’t we call them
-a good start
-a valiant effort
-a first step
-a learning experience?

Why are things either a success or a failure?
Why do we see the world in black and white?

Is this based on a competitive model
Where there is always a winner and a loser
Those who get the prize and those who don’t

I’m sure there is a more compassionate way
A model that encourages one to try again
To take the time
Make an effort
To do better next time
A model in which we all win if we try

A model in which mistakes become learning opportunities
Failures, stepping stones
In such a compassionate world
We will grow and thrive even more

Lida Berghuis
November 17th, 2013