The Mistake Bus to Wisdom

Think of life as a bus, and each life experience as a bus ride. We get on the bus, we reach our destination, we disembark. Often we ride the same bus, over and over again (aka THE BIG RUT). Occasionally we risk taking a new bus, on a different route. With each bus ride we may accumulate some learning, to one degree or another. But sooner or later, we inevitably find ourselves on THE MISTAKE BUS. We hate the ride, but even worse, we hate where it takes us.

The thing is, the Mistake Bus wasn’t marked. We didn’t know when we got on it!
Why do we hate it so much? Because the Mistake Bus takes us to TERMINUS SELF-EXAMINATION, a place where our ego feels very uncomfortable. We squirm. We find out we are human and fallible. (Oh no!) And even worse, we may have hurt ourselves or another person in the process.

Stop looking out the back window

But wait! This is life. Our souls came here to learn. That’s the whole purpose of THE BIG RIDE. (Did you not read the fine print in your contract?) Make a mistake, learn. Make a mistake, learn.

Once we’ve ridden on the Mistake Bus, we resist getting on it again. Our egos will do almost anything to avoid it. Why? Regret. We have a tendency to keep looking out the back of the bus, repeatedly reliving our mistakes in our minds. It’s painful. We just want a nice, safe ride, thank you very much, with as little discomfort as possible.

Eventually we figure out (or we don’t) that the Mistake Bus is actually THE BEST RIDE. There are many of them actually, a veritable fleet. So many Mistake Buses, so little time. There is a full gastronomic menu of life learning in the Mistake Bus fleet. Think about it… Do you order the same old BLT, over and over again, just to avoid heartburn? If you do, you are missing out on LIFE.

Successful people make many mistakes

The challenge in life is to have the courage to risk getting on the Mistake Bus again. And again. And again. Yes, it does have its downside. But, in the long run it’s a more exhilarating ride. And the really great upside is? Eventually you find yourself more and more often arriving at TERMINUS WISDOM, exactly where your soul was trying to take you all along.

So next time around, have the courage to take the new bus, the wild ride. Go for the learning and wisdom. Risk taking the Mistake Bus.

Inspirational Quotes:

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

“I hope that in this year to come, you make mistakes. Because if you are making mistakes…you’re Doing Something.” ~ Neil Gaiman

“A life spent making mistakes is not only more honorable, but more useful than a life spent doing nothing.” ~ George Bernard Shaw

“Experience is merely the name men gave to their mistakes.” ~ Oscar Wilde

“Have no fear of perfection – you’ll never reach it.” ~ Salvador Dali

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Photos courtesy Quang Nguyen Vinh and Pixabay, Pexels

The Mistake Bus to Wisdom © Susan L Hart 2020

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Division Why must I choose so they can know whether to love me or hate me? | HartHaiku.com

Division | Our Choices

Yesterday a friend on social media posted her dismay that she had been attacked for being too nice. That’s right, too nice.

I suppose the world has arrived at a place where we must always choose a side, no matter the issue. If you’re too nice, clearly you’re not on the side of the haters.

While we are all consumed by news of a killer virus, the (perhaps) worst disease of all may extinguish humanity in its entirety, if we don’t put a stop to it.

The disease is called “my ego need to be right”. As long as we force each other to choose sides and then attack each other for those choices, there will never be any meeting ground for healing and building. We will constantly be stuck in a state of tearing down, doomed in a fatal downward spiral to a black void.

Imagine a time in future when aliens visit Earth, a beautiful place lush with flora and fauna, but strangely void of other life forms. And in their exploration of this lovely planet, they come upon a huge headstone that reads,

“Here lies Humanity. Sadly, they killed each other with their need to be right.”

Personally this is not a future vision that I want to see manifest. As Rumi said,

“Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing 
and rightdoing, there is a field.
 I’ll meet you there.
 When the soul lies down in that grass, 
the world is too full to talk about.”

Yes, we could make that choice to meet there, together. Imagine everyone on the same side, a unified commitment to constantly see, evaluate, and discuss many points of view, without judgement or a need to “have it all my way” or attack.

It would be a beginning…

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Photos courtesy of Olle and burak kostak, Pexels

Division | Our Choices © Susan L Hart 2020

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The Search for More in You

Hello, and I hope all is well with you today.

We are certainly living in some trying times. During the process of blogging for the past year, the most important emerging theme is about evaluating ourselves, our strengths, and how we might think differently about our own self-reliance and use that to navigate through these times. Also, how to recognize that we actually have a lot of personal power to make the world a better place. The fate of the world and our futures is not out of our hands, but rather it is in our own minds and hearts.

I am currently offering a gift booklet of some reader favorites from the past year. It’s an introspective read about my most amazing subject ~ You (Us).

If you are interested, just click on the book cover below to claim your gift copy.

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Thank you for following ~ Susan

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Love, hugs, merriment, precious time spent together, moments to cherish. } HartHaiku.com

Gift | Of Time & People

Back around mid-December, if we’d had future vision and known how 2020 would unfold, would we have been making different choices for our lives? I wrote the thoughts in this post on Dec. 13th and they’re more pertinent than ever:

“Right at this moment, there are thousands of people hitting the stores to find that perfect gift for their friends and loved ones. And over the coming days, it will reach a crushing crescendo.

For people who already have money concerns (and there are a burgeoning number of those, except in the very upper echelons of society), this can create a lot of stress. The pressure of meeting holiday expectations that hinge on dollars spent is tremendous.

Our time is like gold

Perhaps we’re doing it wrong. The commodity that cannot be purchased or replaced with money is our time. This precious moment, that will never come round again, is like gold.

But we don’t really stop to think about that, at least not very often. Life is busy. We think we are managing our time efficiently, jotting off quick messages on our phones in a nanosecond, racking up our “likes” on social media. But how much true quality attention do we put into our relationships, day-to-day?

The gift of our time and attention

Perhaps our time is the most precious gift we can give this holiday season and in fact, any time. And by that I mean, real, quality, undistracted time, being fully present with our family and friends, really seeing them and hearing them.

(I realize of course that many people have family “across the miles”, and it may not be possible to connect in shared personal space. In that case, technology is a valuable lifeline to say hello.)

Embrace the opportunity of now

When it’s all said and done, mostly we won’t remember the nifty material gifts we gave or received over the years. But, we will remember the faces of people we love, special moments we spent with them, and how that made us feel.

And come the day when they aren’t with us anymore, we’ll wish we had more time with them. Just one more moment to give a hug, just one more chance to say ‘I love you, you are important to me’.”

Now, six months after the fact, perhaps that may be the best silver lining in the dark cloud of COVID-19. We will most likely never again take our personal time with our family and friends for granted, too often putting it off to tomorrow.

In the final analysis, this wisdom bought at so high a cost of lost moments may be the best gift we receive in 2020.

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Photos courtesy of Jordan Benton and fotografierende, Pexels

Inspirational Quote:

…”Remember, to spend some time with your loved ones, because they are not going to be around forever. Remember, say a kind word to someone who looks up to you in awe, because that little person soon will grow up and leave your side.

Remember, to give a warm hug to the one next to you, because that is the only treasure you can give with your heart and it doesn’t cost a cent.

Remember, to say, “I love you” to your partner and your loved ones, but most of all mean it. A kiss and an embrace will mend hurt when it comes from deep inside of you.

Remember to hold hands and cherish the moment for someday that person might not be there again. Give time to love, give time to speak! And give time to share the precious thoughts in your mind.” ~ Bob Moorehead, Words Aptly Spoken  .

Gift | Of Time & People © Susan L Hart 2020

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