'To err is human, to forgive is divine '
We have all heard that at one time in our lives... I guess. I think I heard it from my dad first*no surprises there*, then my English teacher in High School while teaching 'Idioms and Idiomatic expressions'. Hmmm...those were the good ol' days!
Anyway, I was seeing the Miss Universe 2015 pageant hosted by the one and only Steve Harvey yesterday. It was a lovely event/show, and Seal's performance was mind-blowing as expected. But towards the end of the show, Steve Harvey and his team made a terrible mistake. The winner of the pageant was Miss Philippines but Miss Colombia was crowned as the winner. But as soon as they, Steve Harvey and his team, realized their mistake, they immediately corrected it, took the crown from Miss Colombia and crowned Miss Philippines as the winner. Mr. Steve Harvey and his team have since apologized to Miss Colombia, the people of Colombia, and the world in general, admitting their mistake and the fact that they have corrected it.
I don't want to imagine how Miss Colombia felt or is feeling, how Steve Harvey and his team felt or are feeling, or how this will affect their organization publicity-wise(Yes, I know that no publicity is bad publicity and all). I know that it was, and still is terrible. But I am only interested in the mistake and the things that followed, and should follow, it. The world operates in cause and effect. When something happens, the first questions are usually along the lines of 'What caused this? What should follow after?'. Now, what has been done has been done. A mistake was made, steps have been taken to correct them. Rationally, what should follow is forgiveness and us all getting over it. But no, it's not that easy. And here's why.
We humans all know that mistakes happen, but we somehow believe that we are above it until it happens. Then, two groups are formed. Those who want the mistake to be forgotten already(usually comprising of those who made the mistake, and those who understand), and those who want to keep the mistake alive for their personal gain, humour, or just to learn from it. I understand the logic of learning from other people's mistakes so I won't dwell on that. We all make mistakes, the problem is some of us don't correct them, and some don't even bother apologizing to those offended by the mistake or correcting the mistakes. In that lies the greater mistake.
For anyone who has made mistakes before, you will know that people hardly forget the mistakes as easily as they do the good you have done. Although it is easier to forgive than to forget, some people find it hard to do both. So what do we do about that? Humans can sense deceit, and once they do, trusting you will be a Herculean task. So it is best to be truly sorry for the mistake, apologize to those affected by the mistake, take steps to make amends if possible, and learn from the mistake. Understand that you can't force people to forgive you. Keep doing right, forgiveness will come when it feels right for them. And if someone has wronged you, do understand that as much as it hurts you, the other person might be hurting too but might not know or want to show it. Do forgive all the same.
We are all human after all.
- The Lady
“Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the
least of these, ye did it not to me.”
Matthew 25:45
No comments:
Post a Comment