Lately, I’ve been thinking about the term ‘Redemption’. Can everyone get redemption? Is everyone worthy of this? I’ve made many mistakes in my life. Sometimes I look back at those painful moments and am instantly filled with regret. It can cause me a lot of stress and bring me down completely. I’m not proud of some of the things I did, and I imagine I’m not the only one. Can I be redeemed?

My mistakes changed a lot of things in my life. They made me seek therapy. They ended some of my relationships. They made me dig deeper into myself and search for answers, for explanations. From all these things I learned more about myself and grew as a person. At the end of the day, these mistakes make us who we are, they teach us the way.

We often like to blame others for our mistakes. I guess in a way it makes us feel better. By believing the fault lies with someone else, we distance ourselves from it and prevent ourselves from looking deep into ourselves and see that something went wrong. We never like to admit our mistakes, it hurts our pride and sense of right. However, what we lack to see, is that it actually make us better people, better humans. By blaming others we cause ourselves to be unhappy and holding ourselves back from growth.

Unless this is what we do for a living, it is not our responsibility to punish people for their mistakes. What we need to do is to expect and hope for them to learn, grow and redeem themselves. We need to hope that they will return to the right path and to the functioning part of society. We need to come together and build a world where we take care of all the people in our society, of all classes.

Not too long ago, singer Taylor Swift spoke out about being labeled as “canceled” on social media after making a mistake. Swift was mentioned on hashtags such as “#TaylorSwiftIsASnake” and “#TaylorSwiftIsCanceled, following the incident. In an interview with Vogue, Swift spoke about the experience, saying: “A mass public shaming, with millions of people saying you are quote-unquote canceled, is a very isolating experience.“ Instead of canceling someone, can we help them see a better way? Help them feel like they can be redeemed?

When you make a mistake, use that opportunity to dig deep into your self. Figure out what went wrong and learn from it. Improve so there won’t be a second time. When someone else makes a mistake wish they could get redemption. Hope that they too can learn and grow from them. Hope that together you can make life better, for everyone.