Devotion

"I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work."
~Thomas Edison

Maybe I've just been realistic (as opposed to optimistic) lately. Maybe stress is getting to me. Maybe it's mutant yargh. But whatever it is, the result is that I'm starting to key in on just how much of life is comprised of failure...and how easy it is to forget that.

This line of thinking stemmed from...well, numerous actual events, but most recently from an article that I was reading. The article, geared toward incoming MIT AI graduate students (random, I know), discussed the often devastating toll that even brief moments of failure can have on future progress and motivation. But these failures, the article stressed, are surprisingly common...for everyone.

Duh, you're saying. Everyone fails occasionally or eventually. Well, yes, probably. But how often do we see this?

After all, we display our successes to society. Concerts (the product of long and difficult rehearsals, during which many mistakes are made). Weddings (how many ex's does each have? How many heartaches did each experience before finding Mr./Ms. Right?). Published novels and research articles (How many drafts? How many rejections? How many failed experiments before locking into the "good" one?).

I'm not saying that we should always display our mistakes for the world to see. But it is often said that we grow by our failures, not by our successes. If our failures turn out (way later) to be such good learning experiences, why are we all so reluctant to share our shortcomings and difficulties?

I wonder how good old Tommy Edison felt when he first articulated that quote. Was he matter-of-fact? Sarcastic? Concealing a smile? However he felt, I long to share his simplistic view.

In the meantime, it's all about Romans 5:3-5.