Life is beautiful

The crux of happy living lies in learning graciously from one's mistakes, says Archana K Sudheer

A lady, who had just opened a decorating shop, went to call on a rich prospective client. She was nervous as she had heard that the old woman had turned down many others before her. She did not suppose she would get the job. On reaching the client's house, she nervously surveyed the huge mansion. The old woman suddenly appeared and said, "Have you ever made a mistake?""Why, of course!" replied the decorator. "Fine," replied the old woman, "you can take the job. I didn't want to fool about with someone who had not had a chance to benefit from previous mistakes."This story epitomises the good of learning from one's past mistakes. This is just the way human life works. Not only is it beneficial to accept one's ignorance and learn from it, but it is also a rare virtue. Regrettably, this is usually not the case. The world is moving at such a fast pace that people are in the race to be the best in life. The tendency arises to portray oneself as flawless and without ignorance. No one wants to be left out in this mad race. The impediments that appear along the way are just brushed aside, only to find them occurring again in the track of life. It is only when humans accept that they have erred, that the race will be smooth.A haughty person never has the benefit of learning more because he thinks that he already knows a lot and there is nothing more he can acquire. This a dangerous proposition as it will definitely lead to a downfall. It is through understanding our ignorance and taking healthy measures to correct it that we can climb the rungs of success.Unfortunately, this is a rare virtue nowadays. People are busier building weak mansions for themselves than solid foundations. What good is a house without a foundation? It is of no worth and cannot withstand any sort of storm. Sometimes, this lack of acceptance of one's ignorance may be out of fear of failure.Many of us, terrified by the possibility of failure, deprive ourselves of the chance to change and do better. The prospect of turning the other cheek might just terrify some of us, since it could be perceived as lack of guts or lack of boldness. But it is just the opposite.George Bernard Shaw once observed: "A man learns to skate by staggering about." Many major achievements of great personalities have sprung from disastrous experiences. They have served as stepping stones to success. It is said that the young Winston Churchill made so many mistakes that he was damned by the Press for "his lack of discretion and judgement". Yet, he had the rare virtue to learn from it and he succeeded in life.The crux of happy living is, thus, to laugh at our ignorance and learn from them. Only then will the world be a better place to live in and will we be able to make others happy.