Over the years I’ve made a few (okay, probably truth be told, a lot) of mistakes and I’ve always wondered – do other people make as many mistakes? … as disappointing of mistakes? … do the mistakes keep them up at night and feeling bad? … and who really says “it’s okay – live and learn and move on” and mean it?

Well I think the honest answer is that everyone makes mistakes, right? But the way we process and manage through those mistakes is very different for everyone. And just like with other things in life, some of us are better at accepting mistakes than others. Wasn’t it Oprah that finally felt truly beautiful at 50 and comfortable in her own skin? I’m paraphrasing here but I remember watching her around that time and thinking, My God, do I have to wait that long!!

Although I’m still a few years away from that milestone, it will come quickly I’m sure. So I figure best to learn from those before me that life, while wonderful, is no where near the perfect picture that somehow got etched in our minds. Therefore I’m going to make a pledge to let my life, for the remainder that I have (and God willing it’s awhile), shall be enjoyed to the fullest … and left unedited … Which means I may make mistakes from time to time. Actually, I WILL make mistakes … and time to time might be a little underrepresented but we’ll go with “from time to time” for the sake of argument. Who knows … what I view as a colossal failure may very well be like a rainbow on a rainy day for others, so why fuss with all the worrying?

Of course, I’ll still be mindful of life’s challenges and do my best to make my parents proud, but I think we spend too much time on the past and not enough on the present. And it’s fine time that I put these words into action … SO … I hereby pledge to live all of the moments of my life ahead … fully unedited … for the length, and the width of it.