My Big Brother

Today my brother and I were talking about our lives, the successes and the mistakes we have made, something he said made my heart sad. But first let me me tell you a little about my big brother Ed.

Ed is one of the hardest working, kind hearted, loyal persons I know. He is full of laughter and has a great sense of humor. When his 3 children were young he worked 2 or more jobs to make ends meet. I often felt inadequate compared to what I felt he had accomplished, I have always wondered if I could do what he did. So it surprised me that he felt like he hadn't accomplished much and was down on himself because he feels he makes the same mistakes over and over again. It hurt my heart that he felt that way, I want him to know all the good he has accomplished in his life. We all make mistakes.

To lighten things up I told him this saying which is one of my favorite sayings and I actually read it on the back of a sugar packet in a Chinese restaurant,

but I still found it very profound. :)

It said "It is better to have tried and failed then to never have tried at all"

So simple but so true.

There have been so many times I have not done something because I was afraid of failing, What if I don't succeed, what if I make a fool of myself, what if......

but I realize its not failing that we should be afraid of, its not trying at all, that's where the failure is!

All we can do in life is try, try to make changes, try not to hurt one another, try to do what is right. We will fail sometimes and often repeat mistakes, after all some habits die hard, but the important thing is that we try. The effort we make will be recognized by others and that effort will say something about who we are.

I'm sure I will make more mistakes in my life and when I do I will recall that famous proverbial saying on the back of that sugar packet, then I will go and recall another one of my favorite sayings which is " Put Your Big Girl Panties On and Deal With It!"