Oopses and Falling Down - Brikk

“If I spent every day crying over my mistakes, I think I would forget how to be happy.” — Brikk

Mishaps seem to follow me wherever I go.

Now before you ask — no, I did not intend to knock over Skavre’s wood pile last week. And I certainly did not mean to trip backward into one of Tyra’s resin mixtures the week before that. (Though I will say my boots smelled like pine sap for three whole days afterward.)

Sometimes things simply… happen.

If I spent every day crying over my mistakes, I think I would forget how to be happy. And that would be a much bigger tragedy than a spilled resin bucket.

The other evening I was practicing my violin scales near the hearth. I kept striking a G instead of the F♯. Again and again and again.

Korr’s eyebrows grew lower every single time.

“Brikk,” he finally sighed, “you are playing the wrong note.”

“I noticed,” I told him.

Then I smiled and said:
“Oops.”

Korr looked terribly frustrated for a moment, but I simply lifted my violin and tried again.

Because that is what practice is for, isn’t it?

Not to be perfect immediately.
Not to never stumble.
Not to avoid every wrong note.

Practice exists so we may make mistakes safely… and learn from them.

Sometimes people think falling down means they have failed. But most falls are not intentional. Sometimes your foot slips. Sometimes your hands fumble. Sometimes your bow strikes the wrong string.

That does not make you hopeless.

What matters is what happens next.

Do you stay on the floor believing the mistake defines you?

Or do you laugh softly at the “oops,” stand back up, and try again?

A strong heart is not one that never falls.

A strong heart is one brave enough to rise again smiling.

And if you accidentally fall into resin along the way…

Well.

At least you will smell pleasantly of pine trees.

— Brikk 🎻