Over the past few weeks Clara has slowly and steadily (or maybe not-so-steadily) been learning to walk. It’s been amazing to watch!
There is seriously nothing like watching a newborn toddler who you gave birth to learn to do new things on her own. Things that simply can’t be taught.
But the most inspiring thing about watching Clara learn to walk is how determined she is. Se falls every few steps, but she gets back up and continues to try. Almost every time she falls she gets a huge grin on her face and gets on her feet as quickly as she can. She knows that she can get wherever she wants to go by crawling, but she is determined to walk instead.
She doesn’t get embarrassed by her ‘failed’ attempts. She doesn’t cry in frustration. She, quite honestly, doesn’t even know her attempts are failures – on the contrary, she’s quite proud of every bit of progress she makes!
Oh hey, my little redhead!
I can’t help but think how my life would change if I adopted this attitude. What if I saw nothing as a failure but instead as a step towards progress? What if I viewed every step forward as a success? What if I accepted myself for taking any strides, no matter how small? What if I laughed at myself more often and accepted falls gracefully? What if I was unafraid of trying something new? What if I just knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that I would one day succeed?
Sometimes I think that God looks at us the way I look at Clara, cheering us on in our successes and our failures, knowing that if we try a bit harder we’ll be able to overcome any obstacles. I know that He has more confidence in me than I have in myself.
At the risk of sounding cliche, I wonder what I could accomplish if I was unafraid of looking foolish and found true joy in the process, and in (what I would perceive as) failure.
i was (and still am i suppose) obsessed with watching amelia learn to walk! the hands in the air, the balancing act every few steps, the chuckle when they fall. get ready, basically tomorrow she will be walking everywhere, and you’ll be like, how did that happen? i’m constantly shaking my head at the fact that i have a 10-month old toddler….
Isn’t it the cutest most sweetest thing?! Clara turns one on Monday and I’m going to be a sentimental mess until then… and probably after it, too!
That girl has the best hair. So fun so see her little stance!
Well I’m not sure I would call it the BEST hair. I think she kind of has a Donald Trump style going on in this pic!
HAHAHA but look at the AMOUNT of it!
I imagine that each discovery that the day brings is exciting for Clara (and you!). How nice that must be to think that everything is new and exciting…Like walking. I do that every day and never give it any wonder. I don’t have children, but this was just the push I needed during a frustrating week. Even if I get a bit off track, I am making progress!
Progress is progress! I’m sorry you’re having a frustrating week, but I hope it’s improved over the past few days! Having a kid has definitely given me an entirely new perspective 🙂
Oh, goodness gracious, look at that hair! What a cutie! I love the thought behind this message – “failing” without the usual negative connotation we associate with that word. I’m sure that kind of attitude is much easier to maintain if you have no concept of embarrassment, but even just being able to put a positive spin on not succeeding could have such a helpful difference, I think.
So true, she doesn’t feel embarrassment in the least – but that makes me think – why do I feel embarrassment in most situations? When I watch Clara I just feel happy that she’s trying something new, and I’m sure other people around us are rooting for us to succeed more than they’re analyzing why we’re falling short.
Interesting perspective for sure! One of my favourite quotes is “You only fail if you don’t try”.
She is a redhead, isn’t she! So cute! 🙂