I was watching Chitty Chitty Bang Bang with my son Patrick the other day. I was struck by two things. The first was just how scary the child catcher is. The second was the lyrics of The Roses of Success, which beautifully capture the relationship of failure and success.
Every bursted bubble has a glory!
Each abysmal failure makes a point!
Every glowing path that goes astray,
Shows you how to find a better way.
So every time you stumble never grumble.
Next time you'll bumble even less!
For up from the ashes, up from the ashes, grow the roses of success!
For every big mistake you make be grateful!
That mistake you'll never make again!
Every shiny dream that fades and dies,
Generates the steam for two more tries!
There's magic in the wake of a fiasco!
It gives you that chance to second guess!
Then up from the ashes, up from the ashes grow the roses of success!
Disaster didn't stymie Louis Pasteur!
Edison took years to see the light!
Alexander Graham knew failure well;
he took a lot of knocks to ring that bell!
So when it gets distressing it's a blessing!
Onward and upward you must press!
Till up from the ashes, up from the ashes grow the roses of success.
I'm also reminded of a line Reg says in Monty Python's The Life of Brian
Thank you, Loretta. Siblings!! Let us not be downhearted. One total catastrophe like this is just the beginning.
