Trying again and using aids (a bowl to make a circle) are encouraged in our house. Our table often is full of crumpled bits of paper. Rejected attempts of drawings, crafts, signs and the like from our children. Discarded in frustration. It is not uncommon to find one of them in a mixed state of anger and tears saying ‘It’s doesn’t work!” After being seen and heard, a hug, and some help, more attempts are made.

Rarely do we get it ‘right’ on the first go. And ‘right’ is usually defined as ‘the way I want it to be’. Sometimes this is about control and sometimes it is about the idea in our head being different than reality.

And while this is true about children, it is often true about us as adults as well. We need to go through many metaphorical ‘crumpled pieces of paper’ before we reach our goals or get our ideas into the world. This is normal. However, these are stories rarely written about journals, schools, and magazines. We tend to celebrate the result not the hard work. But without the crumpled paper, the results don’t come.

The choice is up to us.

Photo by Richard Dykes