The Spiritual Practice of Being Wrong

and all of the wonderful gifts it can bring

How would you react if I told you that some of the things you currently believe, and some of your actions, past and present are, in fact, wrong? Does it make you feel like a regular human who makes mistakes and gets things wrong at times, or does it feel like a punch to the gut?

I spent many decades reacting in the latter way, taking offense and defense and covering up mistakes and making my case and feeling shame and fixingitallassoonaspossible. It’s only later in life that I have discovered the truth of the saying, ‘to err is human,’ and understanding it to mean that being wrong is, in fact, human in that every human being is wrong sometimes. Seems simple and straightforward, I know.

When we’re wrong and we know it, it opens up a way toward growth, learning, understanding, apologies, mercy, better relationships, humility, ease, joy - you know, all of the best things. These are much better things than shame, defensiveness, pride, fighting - all of the ego’s best weapons which leave us much worse than how they found us.

So here’s to being wrong, and allowing ourselves to experience the grace that comes when we know it, acknowledge it, and learn from it. As it turns out, God never wanted our perfection, he only wants our honest, whole selves. What God can do with those humble, broken pieces is nothing short of beautiful, and the best part is the peace we’ll find along the way.

Listen to Raised Catholic episode 167: The Spiritual Practice of Being Wrong on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts (or read the transcript), and then let’s meet back here to talk about something we were wrong about this week. (I bet there’s something!)