It was 10:22 AM, Eastern Time, when I made my decision. I was sitting in at the counter in the main room in my home in Blue Hill, Maine. I decided to start making more errors and mistakes. Maybe that was a mistake. But I made it.
Then I decided to write a post memorializing my decision. Maybe that was a mistake, too. Maybe it's a mistake to start the Post with the time and locale of my mistake. Two paragraphs in, and so many mistakes already!
How I made my mistakes
I'd been reading a book called "Fearless creating" by Eric Maisel (Amazon.com: Fearless Creating: ... ). Another mistake. That first statement contains an error. I'd actually been not-reading the book for several months. It sat on my bedside table next to things that I was reading.
I picked it up yesterday perhaps because it was the only thing on my bedside table as I headed off to the toilet (perhaps it was a mistake to say that) and I read this, one of the exercises in Maisel's book:
Practice the following exercise on the linoleum floor of your kitchen or on some similar surface. Thoroughly clean a three-by-three-foot square of the floor. [He explains how.]
Now mix up a little mud.
" With a heavy heart, but a strong will, muddy the floor." [He explains how, and asks: "Should it lower your self-esteem?"]
Now the point.
"You muddied the floor. But you did it as an exercise, to help you learn something. That is exactly the way to hold mistakes. You are making mistakes but...you are making them in the service of something vital, the creation of something true and beautiful...
"Mistakes made when you create are not mistakes. Do not fear them.
Today I read it again. And started making mistakes, beginning with this post.
Mistakes in this post
This post may have spelling errors. Most of my posts do, despite perfunctory spell-checking. It may have grammar errors. It has many sentences that have not been written as well as I could have written them. At least that's what I think. Are those mistakes? Or is it a mistake to try and perfect those sentences? Or a mistake to even think about which is the mistake and which is not? And maybe that's the point.
All creation involves mistakes and potential mistakes. And right now I'm about to make some more mistakes. I don't have a good way to end this post. Is it a mistake to sit and think of something really good, something that ties everything together. Or is it a mistake to just hit "Publich Post", and get on to the next set of mistakes.
I think I'll hit Post, right now. That's the mistake I've decided to make. And by the time you see this, I'll have made it.
(Well, actually I didn't do that. I did an editing pass on the post. And then another when I transfered it from Wave to Blogger. Were those mistakes? I guess so).
Time to hit Publish Post.
It was 10:22 AM, Eastern Time, when I made my decision. I was sitting in at the counter in the main room in my home in Blue Hill, Maine. I decided to start making more errors and mistakes. Maybe that was a mistake. But I made it. Then I decided to write a post memorializing my decision. Maybe that was a mistake. Maybe it's a mistake to start the Post with the time and locale of my mistake. Two paragraphs in, and so many mistakes already.How I made my mistakesI'd been reading a book called "Fearless creating" by Eric Maisel (Amazon.com: Fearless Creating: ... ). That statement contains an error. I'd actually been not-reading the book for several months. It sat on my bedside table next to things that I was reading. I picked it up yesterday perhaps because it was the only thing on my bedside table as I headed off to the toilet (perhaps it was a mistake to say that) and I read this, one of the exercises in Maisel's book:"Practice the following exercise on the linoleum floor of your kitchen or on some similar surface. Thoroughly clean a three-by-three-foot square of the floor. [He explains how.]Now mix up a little mud." With a heavy heart, but a strong will, muddy the floor." [He explains how, and asks: "Should it lower your self-esteem?"]Now the point."You muddied the floor. But you did it as an exercise, to help you learn something. That is exactly the way to hold mistakes. You are making mistakes but...you are making them in the service of something vital, the creation of something true and beautiful..."Mistakes made when you create are not mistakes. Do not fear them.Today I read it again. And started making mistakes, beginning with this post.Mistakes in this postThis post may have spelling errors. Most of my posts do, despite perfunctory spell-checking. It may have grammar errors. It has many sentences that have not been written as well as I could have written them. At least that's what I think. Are those mistakes? Or is it a mistake to try and perfect those sentences? Or a mistake to even think about which is the mistake and which is not? And maybe that's the point.All creation involves mistakes and potential mistakes. And right now I'm about to make another mistake. I don't have a good way to end this post. Is it a mistake to sit and think of something really good, something that ties everything together. Or is it a mistake to just hit "Post", and get on to the next set of mistakes. I think I'll hit Post, right now. That's the mistake I've decided to make. And by the time you see this, I'll have made it.(Well, actually I didn't do that. I did an editing pass on the post. Was that a mistake? I guess so)." __wave_annotations="25,2736,style%2FfontFamily,Georgia%2C+serif:474,496,style%2FfontWeight,bold:565,600,link%2Fmanual,http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FFearless-Creating-Step-Step-Completing%2Fdp%2F0874778050:565,576,link%2Fauto,http%3A%2F%2FAmazon.com%3A:656,667,style%2FfontStyle,italic:1409,1450,style%2FfontStyle,italic:1738,1759,style%2FfontWeight,bold:" class="__wave_paste">
