to err

As I have undoubtedly mentioned before, I love to collect quotes. These quotes, from time to time, pop back into my head.  Probably more circumstantially than anything else.  One of which is by Jim Morrison (I know, I know…). He says, “I think of myself as an intelligent, sensitive human being with the soul of a clown, which always forces me to blow it at life’s most important moments.”  That makes me laugh.

to err

More eloquently put Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe writes, “a clever man commits no minor blunders.” Have you ever thought of that in midst of screwing up?  I mean right in the dirty middle of the moment. Makes you feel a little better?

Maybe.

to err

At this point I almost feel obligated to mention Shakespeare’s “to err is human.”  But I won’t.

to err

Our erring gets a lot of airplay. That’s probably because we do it so much.

As a Christian, one is called to an extremely high standard. Higher than anything here worldly around us. Sometimes I treat this Standard more like my 74 pound duffel bag I didn’t check and am now trying to cram into that ridiculously shallow overhead compartment (that was clearly designed wrong in the first place)–all the while I can feel the mounting waves of frustration oscillate from directly behind me as a swelling line of people wait to find their own seat and cram it in their own too-small overhead luggage compartment. And, by the way, you’d think there would be some camaraderie here as they’re all about to attempt the exact same thing I’m failing at right now.

[long sigh]

That’s more what I see happening with my Standard. Too bad God didn’t make it more economical.

to err

If it bothers you that you mess up, that’s okay. If it hinders you, that’s not.

The two are not cause-and-effect, although, often without a thought, they are accepted this way. If you’ve ever learned to do something, play an instrument or develop a skill for a new job, the first thing you learn is there is no magic bullet, no fast way to get to the finish line. It’s a matter of hard work. That’s it.

That is exactly the way our Standard works. We mess up, we try again. And since our mess ups are inevitable, we can’t hold on to them as excuses or couches for our guilt to veg-out on.

Sometimes we have to strong-arm our humanity and move forward simple because we were told to. To cut all the confusing fat of happenstance and emotion that grays so many decisions, it’s helpful to remember the Knowledge we have is consistent and firm.

As the G.I. Joe PSA’s from the 80′s said, “Knowing is half the battle.”

~jOe

P.S. I would never in good conscience end a post with knowing is half the battle if it were not said by a G.I. Joe.

Don’t hate.