We all deserve unconditional grace and forgiveness

It doesn't matter why you made a mistake. You deserve unconditional grace and forgiveness anyway. In order to have self compassion, we need radical compassion for others.

Hi,

Recently, my wife and I went out to breakfast. The waitress forgot to put in our order, and we sat there for half an hour before anyone realized. My wife, always compassionate, immediately began trying to find reasons for the mistake: Maybe they’re short-staffed. Maybe the waitress is new. Maybe it’s a bad day. She wanted to justify it.

And I get it. We all do this. It feels instinctive, doesn’t it? To look for the “why” behind a mistake, as if understanding the cause will make it more acceptable.

But here’s the thing: it doesn’t matter why the mistake happened. It doesn’t matter if the waitress was new, overwhelmed, or distracted. She shouldn’t need to apologize, though she did profusely, and she shouldn’t need to explain herself. Mistakes happen because we’re human. Grace doesn’t hinge on reasons. It simply exists. People should be allowed to make unconditional mistakes, no justification required.

Mistakes happen because we are not robots. If we can’t allow each other to make mista…