Have Fun Making Mistakes

My toddler nephew Ryan, who is slightly over a year old, can't call me ("Gu" in Teochew dialect, which means uncle) properly, try as he might for quite some time. When he tries, he make a sound like "Bliii !" I see him making his lips go crooked, straining hard in concentration. But after the wrong sound comes out, he grins and giggles, and I laugh, giving him a pat on the head.

Why can't we have fun making mistakes? I don't mean to purposely make mistakes of course. As long as we have tried our best in each moment, that is enough. Even when we fail, we can simply have a hearty laugh at our silliness and try again. No need to feel bad at all! We give up on ourselves when we have not learnt to readily forgive ourselves. This is the first major lesson I learnt from my Bodhisattva nephew! reply