Busted

We have a Trickster in our midst -- not only did I get the magnet and the poster, but I also got a set of postcards with the infamous picture and a quote from my Blog on the back. Yes indeed -- a whole collection of memorabilia centered around one unfortunate collision with a tree -- and who is the clever person with the wicked sense of humor? Our very own Lisa K -- here is her picture -- and now we know why Zoey was sticking out her tongue at her!!!


Sigh...

This whole thing reminds me that failure is all about perspective. Yes, we failed the draft test by assaulting the tree -- but was it failure?! No, not at all. Look at how much fun (!) we have had at the expense of the tree and -- well, me -- how could anything that is so much fun be considered failure? It isn't.

When things do not go as we wish, there are two excellent responses. The first one is to view the situation as information -- not passing a draft test or flunking an obedience exercise is nothing more than information. I learned a valuable lesson about the need to watch boy dogs like a hawk when trees are involved -- who knew?! Not me! But I did after that incident.

The second excellent response when things do not go as we planned is to PRACTICE. Wishing and hoping are insufficient methods to getting where we want to be -- we have to do something more, and that is to prepare/practice for the future. And so "failing" is just information that tells us what to practice -- how excellent and helpful is that???!

And so we can call it failure if we want -- but how depressing! Falling short of expectations is just not a big deal -- unless we make it so. And when we make it so, we are so busy beating ourselves up and stressing that we stay stuck in that place -- yuck! You cannot get to Kansas if you are sitting in Nebraska crying about your wrong turn -- just correct your course and keep driving, appreciating that the detour was part of the journey, even if unplanned.

You will hit trees, say bad words when you shouldn't, and in other ways fall short of perfection -- and isn't that wonderful? It means you are alive and human -- which is better than being dead or a tree without bark.

I will treasure the tree memorabilia -- they remind me that the only real failure is the failure to maintain perspective and a sense of humor. Thanks to Lisa K. for the life lessons and for making us all laugh :)