The steps one takes in life imply the risk of falling and although this is normal, it is also something that one does not seek or desire but from which lessons of transcendence and fulfillment can be drawn.
They say that on one occasion an elderly person was walking next to a young man when suddenly the two stumbled. The young man, impetuous, began to hit the ground and curse for a long time until, once the bad time passed, he realized that the old man would not stop laughing and celebrating. Amazed at this, he asked him if, why was he laughing when his fall (that of the old man) had been perhaps even more resounding and embarrassing due to the question of age, then the old man replied "look, I'm already old and I I take things slower, so when I fell instead of bothering I began to see what I had stumbled upon and look! –Said showing a shiny stone- I found that I had tripped over a diamond! ”.
Fortunately as humans we are prone (I would say very prone) to fall in our walk through life, and I say fortunately that falls, apart from teaching us humility and empathy, can allow us not only to learn but to strengthen our character, since this will depend on part of us.
When it is pointed out that this of learning and strengthening our character will depend “in part on us”, it means that as free and independent beings we can influence our life and our destiny, but that not everything depends on us, we simply imagine if our growing up in Life depends on our intelligence, our will or our conscience. It really would be something much more complicated than it already is! So we can influence ourselves and our walk, but in part. The other "part" is the very nature of our life, the way in which, by the simple fact of existing and being alive, we are subjected to tests that, sometimes imperceptibly and sometimes violently, make small and big changes in us.
In the first case, when we participate in our growth freely and voluntarily, our collaboration is active, that is, we decide and cooperate with our own growth; In the second case, when life itself is making changes in us, our participation is passive, that is, we can when many of us realize these changes if we pay attention. But regardless of this, in both cases, the awareness of our walk can make us find those diamonds on the road, even in the face of life's falls.
Let's do an exercise that I propose in the human development workshops, think of an event that we could frame as a fall or a mistake in your life but that happened five years or more ago, what did you learn from it? How do you see yourself now? What changes have occurred in your person as a result of that event?
Now we go on to the second part of the exercise. Remember in detail how you felt at the time that fall, trip or error occurred, how did you feel? What did you think of yourself? What did you think of life and others?
The exercise has to be done in this way, since if you turn the flashback (do the second part first), it does not allow you to see what you have learned, but the way it is configured allows you to see the acquired wisdom but also how it is that at the time it was not noticeable.
Do you think I'm going to tell you that the next time you fall instead of complaining, crying or cursing you see that you've learned? Well no, the latter comes once the lesson has been assimilated and this assimilation is frustrating and painful, so first complain, cry or curse but then do not stop picking up the diamond you have stumbled upon, after all of each Fall there is only one question that makes sense: what can I learn from this?
