Mistakes

Well I wrote this while travelling from Jammu to Udhampur. I couldn’t get the window seat in the bus.

P.S:- If you are travelling on Jammu-Srinagar highway by bus, make sure you get a window seat because if you don’t, you are missing a lot of treat to your eyes.

I was returning home after my exams ended. This topic just appeared in my brain when my mind drove me back into the lanes of memories.

When I was a child, a mistake was a kind of fun for me. If my Mum told me not to do something, I made it obvious to do that. And then ran away after doing wrong; that hiding from Mum was fun. I did mistakes repeatedly to increase the fun. The mistakes were not some crime then. They were just stupid little things that annoyed everyone else except me. 

And whenever I made some serious mistake & it hurt me, I had an option to cry & my Mum's shoulder was there to... wait...not shoulder...my Mum's lap was there to comfort me. It was the best therapy. 

Eventually, I grew up, I was a teenager. I still made mistakes. Only, the consequences had changed now. Now, a mistake brought serious scoldings from my parents, but they also brought a sense of understanding to me. As if a transformation was taking place. I started realising that mistakes are no more fun. They are some nasty things to avoid. Mistakes started teaching some serious lessons too. Every time I made a mistake, I tried to make sure that I don't repeat it next time. Because, I knew something was not right in committing a mistake now coz my classmates laughed at me when I made one. They were fun, for others, but not for me. They made fun of me. And how could I let something make fun of me, right ? 

Well, I still had the option to cry, but what would my peers think about me. Oh God !! So, crying was something that wasn't a luxury anymore & not at all an escape option.

Anyway, I grew a little older...crossed my teens & became an adult; A young man with dreams in eyes & courage in heart. 

I thought I was not afraid of making mistakes. But, when I made one, I realized, it really scares me... 

Now mistake was no longer a mistake alone. It was a stain, on my being...which I couldn't erase...easily. 

I got judged whenever I made a mistake.

This was by far the worst time to make mistakes. 

Nobody laughed at my face, but I could see very well the grin behind their concern-masked faces that they brought to me. That grin made me uncomfortable. 

I realize that mistakes can bring serious damage to my life now. There could be any kind of mistakes but they are not good at all. No matter how much we learn from them, they do bring some loss to us which is beyond repair. That amount may vary though.

Ha-ha, what if the driver of my bus makes a mistake! My parents won’t be meeting me again. You won’t be reading this article then. Just look at radius of the circle of the consequences of one’s mistake.

An ambulance passed by; what if the doctor makes a mistake?; Could bring serious damage to someone’s life & multiple lives related to him.  

Mistakes were fun only in the childhood… Now they are not.

Then why people say, making mistakes is a good thing. They make you stronger.  You might have heard people saying to you “A mistake is the first step towards success.”

Well I think “Mistake” is an after-word used to make it look over-optimistic.

The suitable word is “Courage”. One should rather say “Courage is the first step towards success.”  After all nobody performs a mistake willingly. That courage may lead to a mistake or accuracy. But that courage inside you is something that shows that you have that matter in you which could lead you to success

.

That courage doesn’t bother about the outcome. It is firm. It can lead you to podium.

So, I think I’ll keep that courage alive in me.

If it leads to a mistake, I’ll just miss my Mum's lap! 

Wish I could still fit in it. 

But, I have developed this habit of consoling my heart in bad times. Nobody can do it better after all...

So, whenever, I make a mistake now, I realize one thing that it’s an inseparable part of my life. I can't get over it. 

I made mistakes in the past & will keep doing mistakes in the future.

And I don't fear making mistakes anymore, just like I didn’t  in my childhood because they are as strong a symbol of my courage as is my success.

After-all, this canvas of life requires some odd colors too... Otherwise the portrait my look spiritless... 

Ok I have reached my destination. It’s time to get off the bus.

Well this was my take, what do you people feel about mistakes on your part...do share in the comments below...☺

I’m sharing some pictures below of my journey. Hope you’ll like it.

©MANJUL JAGOTRA