Mission 9: Wastes No Mistakes

Agents, let us continue our exploration into the mysteries and insights of nature as a model for the New Story we wish to live into. Yesterday, we began to see that nothing can be counted as waste in nature, because Earth’s system is a closed loop. Unless something literally leaves planet Earth, everything - from decaying organic matter to toxic pollution - eventually cycles back into the Earth’s biosphere with both positive and negative consequences. This is why, in reality, there is no such thing as “away” as in the idea that we can “throw garbage away.” Yet, nature has far more to teach us about the use of waste in the creation of new life. Let’s take a look how... In the Old Story, we are once taught that mistakes were a sign of failure. Making a mistake represented some inferiority to those who do not make mistakes, meaning we may be judged as unintelligent or unworthy in some way for our failures. Yet, if we observe the workings of nature, we can see nature makes mistakes constantly! Nature will try out a thousand possibilities to solve a problem - say, to find the right type of plant to repair degraded soil. Out of these thousands of possibilities, only a small handful will actually work for the job. So, did nature fail hundreds of times? Should nature hang its head in shame? We can’t really say that, because it was only through failure - repeated attempts to solve a problem - that the natural world found the solution it was looking for to repair this soil, which allows even more biodiversity to live there in the future. Nothing in nature is wasted, and so nothing in our human lives can be wasted. Mistakes that we make simply become the compost for future growth and future possibilities. Even the most embarrassing or discouraging mistake is the richest pathway to the solution. Our mission today, Agents, is to make beautiful mistakes, and then be grateful for the chance to learn from them.  I lost my phone and with the help of many I found it in the first place I thought I left it, but it took 20 minutes to find it.  The time looking for it was made easy because of the help I received from others. We make mistakes everyday. All of us. Someone wise once said… “Want to know the difference between a master and a beginner? The master has failed more times than the beginner has even tried.”   So make mistakes! Of all colors and shapes! Just remember to learn from them by celebrating them!