What does the word “mistake” even mean? There is something in it that unsettles me. Who created it? And why have we accepted that certain actions automatically fall under this category?
Not because I haven’t experienced strange, unexpected, or awkward situations – on the contrary. But I believe that if an action does not lead to the desired outcome, it does not mean it was wrong. It may have simply been… an attempt. An attempt that is felt on the skin, making the mind contract and expand at the same time, slightly tightening the air and concentrating presence in the space between me and others.
In a world of eight billion people, there are eight billion perspectives. If I spill a bucket of water on the street, one person will say it’s irresponsible. Another may not even notice. A third might assume I am cleaning the balcony. A fourth may think I am clearing negative energy. Who is right? All and none. Because perspective is not absolute truth, but a personal reflection – quiet, gentle, almost like someone following your movements and leaving a trace that vibrates across your body and lingers in the mind.
When I take action guided by my sincere feelings – whether trust, attachment, impulse, or hope – and it results in pain or distance from someone, is that a mistake? I don’t think so. It is simply part of life, part of my personal path. Part of being human.
On “bad” and “worse”
I do not believe in classifying actions as bad, worse, or worst. If an action is harmful, it is so – but the degree does not change its essence. A mistake does not become smaller or larger based on its consequences, but on whether the person understands it and what they learn from it.
Tragedy for me is when someone dies. Happiness is when a new life is born. Everything else is simply movement along the line of life. There are choices – some help us, others teach us. But to say “that was a mistake” and blame ourselves is to ignore the entire process of learning and growing. Within this flow arises something that expands the boundaries of the mind, slightly tenses, and prepares you for everything that is to come.
The truth is: I tried to “fix”
Still, I will tell a moment that someone else might have called a mistake. I am not sure.
I trusted someone I considered close. Over time, everything changed. The distance became palpable. Instead of accepting this as natural development – people change, relationships change too – I began to search for fault within myself. I started to “fix.” Apologies, explanations, attempts to show I cared – perhaps too much. And this concern, this sincerity… in fact, made things worse. Or so it seemed at the time. The person left. And I was left with the feeling that I had made a “mistake.”
But today I think differently. We were simply in different places. I didn’t worsen anything – I was just being myself at a moment when that wasn’t accepted. And if the cost of that is someone leaving, isn’t it better that it happened this way?
To challenge the concept of “mistake”
Now, when others write about a specific mistake – how they took action, then tried to “fix” it, and everything became worse – I sit here trying to challenge the very concept. Not out of stubbornness. But because I don’t believe in the fixity of the term “mistake.” I don’t believe that human life is a series of “right” and “wrong.” I think it is more a language we use to simplify the complexity of our own existence.
And yet…
If I have to conclude with something concrete, I will say this: if someone calls an action you took a “mistake” – that is their perspective. If you yourself decide it was a mistake – that is your lesson. But if you feel no guilt, if you don’t believe you intentionally hurt anyone, if you were authentic – then perhaps what we call a “mistake” is simply another step toward understanding yourself better – a light, quietly pulsing note inside you that lingers and cannot be forgotten.