" A C C I D E N T S   S H O U L D
S T O P   B E I N G   S E E N
A S   S O M E T H I N G
T H A T   I S   S E P A R A T E
F R O M   T H E   W O R L D
A N D   I N S T E A D   B E
A C C E P T E D   A S   A
P A R T   O F   T H E   W O R L D
A N D   H E N C E   O N
E Q U A L   F O O T I N G
W I T H   P R E F E C T I O N."
Paul Virilio

" T H E   H I G H E R   U P
Y O U   G O,
T H E   M O R E   M I S T A K E S
Y O U 'R E   A L L O W E D.
R I G H T   A T   T H E   T O P,
I F   Y O U   M A K E   E N O U G H
O F   T H E M,   I T' S
C O N S I D E R E D   Y O U R
S T Y L E. "
Fred Astaire

" T H E R E   I S   A   C R A C K
I N   E V E R Y T H I N G,
T H A T' S   H O W   T H E
L I G H T   G E T S  I N. "
Leonard Cohen

My granddaughter Josie is a girl of many talents. She can run fast and jump high. She reads with comprehension beyond her years. She has the eye of an artist.

Like many girls her age Josie loves horses. She dreams of riding horses and often they are the subjects of her drawings. One day while sitting at our dining room table she decided to draw a horse. It was a beautiful thing with a flowing mane and tail. However, when it was complete, Josie noticed that one leg was much shorter than the others.

She shrugged and said, "I know, I will add a stool under the short leg."

She drew the stool and displayed her picture with pride. It did not occur to her that she had made a mistake. She simply found a creative solution to something in the picture that was not working. She did not see a mistake. She simply saw an interesting situation that needed attention.

In her book All Messed Up: Unpredictable Graphics, Anna Gerber asks, "What is a mistake." And "What is an accident?" She argues that in striving for perfections we inevitably make mistakes. She says that sometimes these mistakes and accidents work to our advantage. She suggests that in order for progress to occur it is necessary for things to go wrong.

In particular she is addressing issues of design and creativity. However, I believe her perspective has a broader application. Mistakes and accidents call for creative solutions. Perfectionism does not.

I found the following definitions of mistake and accident in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language:

Mistake: n. 1. An error or a fault resulting from defective judgment, deficient knowledge, or carelessness. 2. A misconception or misunderstanding. v. 1. To understand wrongly; misinterpret. 2. To identify incorrectly.

Accident: n. 1.a. An unexpected, undesirable event. b. An unforeseen incident. 2. Lack of intention, chance.

These definitions have a decidedly negative tone. They leave little room for opportunities for problem solving or innovation. Instead, they teach us that mistakes and accidents are bad. If we accept this view, we will certainly experience negative self-judgments when we inevitably make errors.

When we do not take risks we decrease the chance of mistakes or accidents, but we also limit our opportunities for discovery and learning. I am not suggesting stupid thinking or stupid actions. Rather, I believe we should make room in our lives for the kind of exploration that leads us to new learning. Accidents and mistakes can be the very best teachers.

In the past I have been quick to cast aside my efforts that do not reach perfection. I have judged myself as somehow lacking and I have made myself wrong. I notice there is much more joy in an atmosphere of learning that includes the possibility of mistakes. I am learning from Josie to find creative solutions to interesting situations.