A rule that has come in handy for me many times is learning to laugh at the moments in my life that I wish I could have erased. Whether it is an embarrassing moment that burns your cheeks or the moments that you are sure your brain has left you, laughing it off seems to be the best fix.
There was a time when an embarrassing or forgetful moment would have sent me home in tears, but I have learned that laughing at your mistakes is a more productive way of dealing with your flaws. During my first drive-time, I remember falling on the ice, on my way around to the driver’s side. Upon getting up, I apologized to the woman who was driving with me. Let me repeat this, I APOLOGIZED for falling. She was not affected in any way, but still I felt the need to say “I’m sorry” for slipping on the ice. We both laughed at the absurdity of the situation.
I also remember being on my last drive-time and seeing a butterfly fly across the windshield of the car. I found it necessary to slow down and save the poor animal’s life. The instructor turned to me and asked, “Did you just slow down for that butterfly?” I did. I did slow down for the butterfly. While I do not regret my decision to spare the life of that creature, I couldn’t help but laugh at the absurdity of the situation.
The cringe-worthy moments have not stopped since my high school days. Including almost getting into the shower fully clothed, and doing a full load of laundry while forgetting the detergent. Looking back on these things, I am able to realize the wonderful human quality wrapped up in each one of these seconds. I am human which will continue to result in absurdity and laughter.
Whether it be showing up to class with spiral notebook lines across my face from falling asleep on my homework or slowing down a car for a butterfly, laughing is how we get through these things. I think there is a certain grace that comes from laughing at yourself. It is a way of saying “Yes, I messed up, but now I have morphed it into a source of joy.” I have come to see that we are all glorious mistake machines and that makes for some pretty funny moments.
I think that we learn to laugh at ourselves when there is no other way out of a bad situation. It allows us all to share a moment of happiness that originally came from embarrassment, fear, or just absent-mindedness. There is no end to the stream of laughable moments, but learning how to find humor in your flaws makes those moments a little more bearable.
These are the moments of joy that will last. Trust that no one will remember your mistakes, instead, they will remember the way you responded to them. Seeing the grace that comes from that kind of laughter is what begins to fall in place of the unbearable moments.
So, I hope you learn to laugh and laugh hard. Remember that laughter gives you permission to replace mistakes with grace.
