Trying new things is a great way to learn.

It's not always easy. But you learn.

One of my newest products is my cotton eco tote bag. I'm not a super-experienced seamstress. So making 21 tote bags was a fun adventure. And by fun, I mean long and sometimes frustrating.

The first bag I made was too small.

Then my needle broke.

Then I made two with wonky twisted handles.

BUT! I learned I needed to make them a bit bigger than I had originally planned and I absolutely love the bigger size bag. Then I learned how to change the needle on my sewing machine. Then I learned I need to pay close attention to the handles when pinning the pieces together so they don't have a twist in them. Eventually I found myself with nineteen perfect bags and two nearly-perfect bags. The first bag took me two hours to make. The last one took about twenty minutes.

I think in life it's so easy to focus on mistakes or hardships. Especially since they always seem to come in waves. You haven't even had a moment to catch your breath from the first hit when another one will bowl you over.

Certainly, some hard times will not have an 'upside'. I don't think there's a silver lining to be found in every cloud. But I think when smaller, everyday things like breaking a sewing machine needle or having trouble finding a parking space or losing your keys occur, before you start beating yourself up, just pause. Reflect on yourself. Is this really the worst case scenario? Is this something I could have prevented? If so - learn to do better next time. If not - there was nothing you could have done. In either case, forgive yourself and accept that nothing is perfect and there's always something to be learned. Even if the lesson is just patience.