Life’s Happy Little Accidents

We often think about life as a big book filled with separate and distinct chapters, with each chapter referring to a new “season” of life. Perhaps there’s a childhood chapter here, a college chapter there. This was a dark chapter, this was a light, joyful chapter.

In a similar, yet slightly different way, I’ve come to think of our lives as something more like a canvas painting, rather than a novel. Life isn’t always as “clear cut” as we might like it to be. We may not clearly see when a old chapter “ends” and a new one “begins.”

In our life paintings, our struggles, joys, hopes, and fears merge together as a constant, ever-changing story showcased through our own unique canvas creations. Our chapters don’t necessarily end, they merge into something else that is shaped by memories, patterns, stories from the past.

Art itself has a way of creating beauty, meaning, and purpose out of unique colors, shapes, and designs. “Perfection” is not the end goal — it’s not even something attainable. Viewers appreciate the colors, strokes, and imagery of paintings, but it is the story behind them that makes them beautiful.

Happy Little Accidents

Bob Ross, a brilliant artist and television host used to say in regards to painting, “There are no mistakes, only happy little accidents.”

In one episode of his show, The Joy of Painting, he demonstrates this in the way he transforms an old, “unwanted” painting into a beautiful new landscape. He gracefully turns “mistakes” into stunning works of art, and even embraces the new direction former “accidents” take him.

In a similar way, as we move through hard, messy times in life, rather than getting stuck on past mistakes, hardships, or failures, we can instead allow them to reshape or refine our journey. Here, challenges and struggles continually merge and blend different styles, forms, or colors into new works of art.

In this way, one need not run from past “failures” but let them shape and direct the ever-evolving painting of life.

Freedom doesn’t come with erasing or whiting out our “mistakes” or perceived failures. Like Bob Ross, we learn to let our “happy little accidents” form intriguing new landscapes over time. From here, our own life paintings become more beautiful, refined, and captivating in the end.

And one day, after we leave this world and our paintings are finally finished, perhaps we’ll have the chance to step back and admire our works of art alongside the true artist behind them.

Then we’ll see why certain strokes were used, or why certain colors seemed to blend outside the lines. Finally, we’ll come to discover and understand the grand purpose behind it all.