Learning From Mistakes Poem by ESTHER OKEKWUO

Like a deconstructed work of art, uninvited lines of brush strokes, extra splashes of colour and every other artistic mistake can only make sense once you stare at it. So what looks strange begins to make perfect sense as it is actually telling the truth about life.

We make mistakes. Wrong decisions, wrong choices, wrong associations, wrong relationships, something not just right happens. The beauty about mistakes is the ability to gain something meaningful from it - at least one way not to do something!

If I never failed, I would not have known what it means to fail. I would not have known what depression really is. I would not have had a feel of ‘attempted suicide'. I would not have learned some lessons.

Mistakes are part of life; some cannot just be avoided no matter how hard you try. The problem lies where one now becomes stagnated because of a mistake. It is okay to cry and feel bad, it is really fine but not okay to become stagnated or stunted because of it.

You have a choice to make - to learn from the mistake, gain new insights, grow rise stronger or vice versa. Mistakes are not always bad. I feel some mistakes are divinely orchestrated to remind us we are humans and teach us lessons in ways we can quickly grasp or comprehend.

So, like a deconstructed work of art, there are mistakes that are irreversible; but then, we can appreciate their beauty and learn the truth about life. It will not always be smooth and rosy, in spite of its crookedness, there is an undefined beauty.