“Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.”

–Albert Einstein et al.

Let’s define the word “mistake” shall we? We use that word often, rarely ever considering in depth the strength and impact of that word. So here goes, with good old Merriam-Webster’s definition of the word:

As we can see in the definitions, all the contexts of the word “mistake” or “mistook” rely solely on one towards another in regards to making a faulty judgment of an action. It doesn’t count as a mistake if you don’t know you’re doing something wrong. If we do know, or if we at least feel that way, the only thing that can be done is to apologize and move forward learning from our wrongdoing so that less damage is done. But even so with apologizing, it means that we value how we connect with others and the relationship we have with others. As long as you try your best to not make more wrongdoings and put enough effort to create less damage, then all will be alright.

I can say I’ve already made a ton of mistakes in my short span of life. What am I to do? My birth didn’t come with a manual. My mother wasn’t offered a manual as well. Or my father. And most of the “manuals” that already existed and that were demonstrated to me, made no gosh damn sense to me. I had to search and search for the ones that I felt resonated deep within my heart and this was only after a hundred blunders I realized I had made.

When people hear faith, they think of it as something you need to follow, like a specific god or deity, or dogma. But really, faith belongs in the heart. With my past, when I had made “mistakes” I never knew I was making, I was following my heart. I wasn’t thinking about whether or not I’m making a mistake. While in the real world the decisions I’ve made may seem like mistakes that bring not so good consequences— to me, it worked out just the way I wanted. The results were everything and more. And I feel grateful and accomplished at the same time because after overcoming or dealing with the situation, I said to myself, “I wanted this all along.” And you are struck with amazement at how unconscious you were of that “wanting” during the process. Therefore there was no mistake or failure in my decision. The mistake is not in you, it mostly is in another’s perception or understanding of you. There is where the mistake lies. Maybe at first, you would say, “I made a mistake”, but after a few quiet moments of solitude and contemplation, you realize what you have done was best at least for you.

For me, “making plans” was not something I was raised upon. Sure I was raised to use schedules and write in my agendas or planners (which I do regularly) but when it came to making plans for life in general, the only plan I had was having faith. Following my heart and intuition which is more stronger and more powerful than the mind, which plans rely on. You think of plans with your mind. You make the plan with your mind and you follow the plan with your mind. But where’s your heart and soul in the process? If you don’t place these factors into consideration, and random things pop up in your plan to eventually set your plan off course, it can put you in a state of mind that causes some more turmoil and damage onto yourself and maybe onto others. You perceive yourself as a failure or unsuccessful when all we are is only just human. We’re only human meant to resonate in all greatness. Plans don’t fully allow that greatness. Plans have expectations on others which can be more disappointing than relying on faith and understanding that life is not meant to be a “fair” scenario between two or more individuals. The act of giving, and having faith that all will be alright for all involved may be made through that first thought, “I may make a mistake, but I’ll surrender anyways. If so, may I be forgiven and forgive myself.” This takes courage and empathy to a new level. It takings learning to a new stage. A lesson that can’t be taught in the classroom.  

“When you follow your heart, you may feel a little knot inside, but that deep knot is your heart knocking on your head to tell you that everything is going to be okay.”

There is no mistake when you follow your heart as long as you are not hurting others and you take responsibility. Others may look at them as mistakes, even you at first glance may think of it as a mistake, but it’s not. When you invest all your effort in following your heart, even if your mind doesn’t know what the heck to do, your heart is strong enough to lead you on the road that you are meant to be on. It will lead you to the source where you can live in mental, physical, and spiritual freedom. When you only invest your mind and physical effort in life, our life feels more like a survival game. There is no freedom to make so-called mistakes. With this, what more can you learn? It’s as if you are living in a cycle. Tell me and ask yourself with deep honesty—which sounds more magical, more adventurous, heroic and more fulfilling and liberating? Surrendering to the divine universe? Or surrendering to your written down plans? When you follow your heart, you may feel a little knot inside, but that deep knot is your heart knocking on your head to tell you that everything is going to be okay. “Don’t worry I got your back,” It’s telling you. With your plans, you’re only limiting it to yourself and the mind at work. With divine faith and the openness to mistakes, you are limitless, you are the universe. So hereby I redefine “mistake” as “divine faith”. And divine faith in yourself surely requires you to take a step outside of your box that keeps you from seeing the light of love and beauty of this world.

Planning itself is not bad at all. But its crucial to keep in mind that even if you follow a plan, it is important to keep in mind that things might not turn out as planned. What a paradox. The key is to not to depend so much on your so-called “plan”. Cause your so-called plan may lead you to end up somewhere even better anyways. Somewhere beautifully unexpected. Therefore, don’t just base your life solely on plans and following other people’s directions. The divine is meant to run through you; however, it is you define the divine. In plain terms, we have more than just five senses of touch sight smell taste and smell to survive in this world. That sixth sense does exist, and that is intuition. That is your heart. The beating drum that has kept you alive since the moment you existed. The brain wasn’t even fully developed then. To this day, no one knows everything about the brain. Yet we rely on it so much, more than the heart. The MOST powerful organ of them all. And what does the heart symbolize? Love. And what does that lead you to? Freedom. Serenity. Divinity. Creativity. An absolute complete awareness of the divine that exists within you and outside of you.