“Old sins cast a long shadow.”

I’m thinking about long-running negative repercussions of things. It’s a slightly unfortunate turn of thought, mainly because I’m sitting in a McDs in Stratford out of the rain while waiting for my son to finish his 11+ examination, about which I think I’ve been more worried than him this morning. If this were a test of mindfulness this would probably be my Becher’s Brook.

I’m reminding myself that if he doesn’t get through then it’s most likely the case that grammar school isn’t the right place for him. I find myself worrying, however, that if he doesn’t score well it will hit him hard – despite our always having consciously sought to teach him that your value doesn’t hinge on your achievements.

‘I think ‘failure’ and disappointment are lessons that it’s better to learn earlier in life. But just as instructive is the lesson that although some things may well haunt you late into life, exam results don’t need to fall into that category (incidentally, neither does redundancy, not getting the job, and other assorted career disappointments).

Whatever happens in life, what makes the real and lasting difference is what you learn from the experience and how you grow from it. All of us have a path to create, which, when we look back at it, might not remotely resemble any of our carefully-laid plans. But that’s the beauty of life – the magic of the things that happen when we are seeking other things. Serendipity 🙂

– Written by Natalie Snodgrass Tan, Quiet Space Ltd