I BELIEVE we
all commit mistakes and suffer some failures
in life. And certainly we feel bad about it. We just have
to make sure
that we do not stay long brooding over them and letting
ourselves to
sink to sadness and depression. We have to learn how to
bounce back to
happy normal life as quickly as possible.
There is much
more to life than wasting our time getting
stuck with our mistakes and failures. Getting stuck there
can mean we
are quite proud, too attached to our ideas and likes, and
not seeing a
wider picture that only God in his providence can give.
Life is like a
game. There are rules to follow, goals to
reach, deadlines to meet, issues to resolve. There are
challenges to
face and dreams to pursue. There are just so many tasks
and other
concerns to mind. Of course, we have to score as many
points as
possible, but life can have other turns.
We just have to
come out with game plans and strategies,
availing of the pertinent tools and instruments. And yet
despite all
the preparation and our best efforts, including the
exercises needed
to acquire a can-do attitude, we know that we can still
fail.
We have to
learn how to cope with this eventuality,
quickly learning many lessons we can derive from our
mistakes and
failures. We have to realize that there actually are many
precious
lessons we can learn from our mistakes and failures that
cannot be
found when we are succeeding in life.
As long as
things are always related to God, everything
will work out for the good. (cfr. Rom 8,28) As a
consequence, we just
have to learn how to be sport and game about all this,
and move on as
quickly as possible. No use spending too much time
dwelling on why we
committed the mistake or why we failed.
Like any
sportsman, we have to have a good inventory of
our assets and liabilities, our strengths and weaknesses
and
strategize them to our best advantage. Of course, we
should try to do
something about our handicaps, aiming at knowing how they
can be taken
advantage of.
This means that
we have to undertake an ongoing training
and formation program to equip us adequately for the game
of life. And
given how present developments are, that training has to
be constantly
updated. Yes, we need to always retrain ourselves to
acquire new
skills that are more attuned to the current needs.
We have to put
passion on everything that we do, though we
also have to put a curb on our anger and temper and the
other
undesirable impulses and outbursts. The art of offense
and aggression
as well as defense has to be learned properly. We have to
know how to
accept things as they are, yet always striving to make
things as they
should be.
We have to
learn how to pace properly with the flow and
the rhythm of the moment, knowing how to change gears at
the right
time, when to move fast and when to move slowly. When
changes, even
drastic ones, have to be made, we should be quick to do
them, with due
prudence, of course.
Of course, it
helps that we bring all these considerations
in our prayer so that we would not lose sight of what is
most
important in all these things. It is for the glory of God
that we try
our best to win in this game of life, though we should
realize that if
we truly follow Christ it can happen that winning this
game may look
like a defeat or even a devastation if seen in merely
human terms and
worldly criteria.
With God,
victory is assured regardless of how things are
seen in human terms. That’s when we can echo St. Paul’s
words: “I have
fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have
kept the
faith. From now on the crown of righteousness is laid up
for me…” (2
Tim 4,7-8)
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