Mistakes are Just Short Moments in Time
Kat / Vertical Axion
Have you ever seen a Navajo rug? When they’re authentic, you will find many mistakes. But why, you ask? Why would such a beautiful rug be allowed to harbor so many mistakes?
There are a couple of theories as to why the Navajo leave mistakes in their rugs, even when they may be interpreted as ugly by others. Some say the Navajo intentionally make mistakes and leave them to remind themselves that they, and all people, aren’t perfect. This kind of idea can also be applied to Wabi-sabi art in Japan.
However, some say something different. Even though the mistakes weren’t intentional, the act of not going back to fix them was.
Mistakes are simply a moment in time. Often a single decision makes up the entirety of the mistake, and sets off a chain of events that is often called the aftermath. But the mistake itself is just that: a single act. Why try and change something that has already happened? It cannot be changed. The mistake is done.
Let’s look at it in a different way. You’re climbing a mountain and you trip. Do you stop, go back, and correct your step? Probably not. You brush yourself off and you keep moving forward. Even if you trip again or slide down a little, you just keep climbing. That step that you messed up is never going to go away, but it can teach you not to make that particular type of step again.
Besides, as long as you make it to the top, who in their right minds would ever call such a triumphant climb a “mistake”?
