Happy Accidents

Silence would reign in the house of my young parents.

A bump.  A crash.  Then a suspicious silence.

A young voice, maybe two or three, calling in a rather brash way…

“ACCIDENT!”

I did that when I was little.  My poor parents.  Hey, at last I let them know something was up!

Accidents are generally bad things, and I strive to avoid them.   However, sometimes the more I try to avoid them, the more I make mistakes!  It’s a nasty cycle.

Here comes Bob Ross with a nugget of wisdom that is deeper than it seems.

“There are no mistakes, only happy accidents.”

Much like Yoda’s “try not, only do,” this isn’t saying you shouldn’t try to do your best.  After all, would it be a mistake if you weren’t trying to do well?

After some thinking about this statement, I came to realize that he’s talking about learning to work with whatever happens, whether you planned it or not, and that will lead you to turn some mistakes into opportunities, make fewer mistakes in general, and be happier with what happens.

In art, and in life, I think we could all use a dose of that.

It’s a wonderful and relaxing attitude and I think I may turn it into a tattoo.