All The Things I Wish We'd Learned

Existence is predicated on mistakes. From what Bob Ross called “happy accidents” and semi-surprised expecting mothers call “whoopsies” come the marked signs that life exists. You and I are the products of billions of years’ worth of accidents—mutations, circumstances, and timing all perfect for you to be born and survive long enough to be standing in an art gallery in Shanghai, reading this caption. There’s a certain peace of looking down into the chaos and giving up the comforting illusion of control. The truth is, history is merely a record of past mistakes so that we may make better mistakes in the future. There’s no such thing as avoiding mistakes altogether. And if we must make mistakes, we should at least make them our own. Original mistakes are the ones that are remembered. For example, the accidental discovery of the x-ray by Wilhem Roentgen and his very curious hands on his cathode ray tube. Or the 1631 King James Bible that read in Exodus 20:14: “Thou shalt commit adultery” (“honey, you gotta believe me…”). Even Van Gogh’s swirlies were inspired by constant vertigo caused by his Meniere's disease. Mistakes are everywhere, and they are beautiful.