My father always told me that in this world we are going to make a truckload of mistakes, but the best mistake we can ever make is to err on the side of mercy
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes the importance of showing mercy, even when mistakes are made.
Joan Bauer's quote reflects the idea that throughout life, we will inevitably make many mistakes. However, among all the errors we can commit, the greatest and most commendable mistake is to err on the side of mercy, suggesting that showing kindness and compassion is always a better choice than being harsh or unforgiving.
In practice
In a speech about leadership, one might quote this to emphasize the value of forgiveness in decision-making.
We read to learn and to grow, to laugh, to be motivated, and to understand things we've never been exposed to. We read for strength to help us when we feel broken, discouraged or afraid. We read to find hope. We read because we're not just made up of skin and bones, and a deep need for chocolate, but we're also made up of words, words which describe our thoughts and what's hidden in our hearts.
In the end I do respond to my own instincts. Sometimes they're successful, and obviously sometimes they're not. But you have to, I think, remain true to what you believe in.
Silver and gold are not the only coin; virtue too passes current all over the world.
The melancholy joys of evils pass'd, For he who much has suffer'd, much will know.
I know now what he was trying to do, but Atticus was only a man. It takes a woman to do that kind of work.
I thought they were helping me. I was so full of trust in them that I felt grateful as they carried me in the air. Only when they threw me overboard did I begin to have doubts.
The difficulty is, all swing thoughts decay, like radium. What burnt up the course on Wednesday has turned to lead on Sunday. Yet it does not do to have a blank mind: the terrible hugeness of the course will rush into the vacuum and the ball will spray like a thing berserk.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.