The Condition of Being Human

Mistakes do happen to the best of us. It is an imperfect world
and I am one of the imperfections.

Funny how being human can cause problems.

I am fully human. That comes with all the imperfections that are inherent with that condition. I have my moments of being happy, of being frustrated with myself, with being sad and sometimes moody, and sometimes silly. Sometimes I have a sense of humor that is not appreciated by some. Sometimes I am too sensitive.

My most human condition is that I am not perfect, not everything I do is without error.

Unfortunately, there are those who expect perfection from me.

All the time.

It happens at times, when there is an error on one of my patterns. With all the patterns I have, it is bound to happen, albeit fairly rare. With well over 2000 patterns it can be expected, no matter how careful I am.

 Perhaps there is a code missing for one of the colors. Perhaps there might have been a slightly better color choice for one of the beads. Or perhaps I used a color which is discontinued  (but I still have in my stash so I THINK it is still available). Once in a while a computer glitch, or striking the wrong key on the keyboard creates a mistake that was not a result of my own active choice.

Imagine making a mistake where a digit is dropped when transferring the number of beads stated in a bead count on a pattern. This is a terrible mistake that can cause deficiency in the number of beads required by a significant amount. Imagine needing 12,300 beads and the “1” is dropped by some unexplained reason while cutting and pasting. The required amount is off by 10,000 beads. It is a bad mistake. But is it the end of all good things?

Has this ever happened to me?

I did say I was human and subject to making an error. Yes it has happened. I made such an error, regretfully.

When this was brought to my attention today, I realized that making an error is not my only human trait.

When under attack, it is human nature to get defensive. Knowing that this is a natural reaction, I tend to push aside those instances where I am attacked and answer at a later time so that I do not react from an emotional base.  I received a lengthy, very angry email from a person who discovered my mistake, and who stated in no uncertain terms how “furious” she was that she now had to order more beads. She went on to say that this inconvenienced her greatly because she lives in a place where the beads will be subject to customs, a lengthy transit time and the worst of all: what if the beads are of a different dye lot?

I wrote back (after a bit) stating that the pattern had been beaded by many. (I wondered to myself why no one had mentioned this to me. Apparently they figured out the deficiency with no ill effects). The color that was off was DB 310 (matte black). I told her that in all the years I have used 310, I never noted a color/shade difference (which may rarely happen with other colors). Since she recently ordered the 310, a reorder will likely be of the same batch anyways. So there was no need to worry. It would all work out fine. No worries.

I thought that would be enough to sooth her.

It wasn’t.

The next email was a further furious attack. Name calling ensued. I was called arrogant. I guess because I did not crawl on my belly and proclaim what an idiot I am. Or that I did such a horrendous thing that I should stop designing entirely. She did receive an assurance that I believed all would work out. But that was not enough. I guess belly crawling would have been the best reaction.

Arrogant I am not, I assure you of that. I do make mistakes. Most times I compensate for it in some fashion. But not when someone comes off at me like I am a pile of dog excrement on my best day. How could someone be that angry when she stated that she has done other patterns of mine that have turned out, in her words, “fantastic”?

Maybe this person needs a reminder of what it is to be human. That people do make mistakes. That when under attack, physically or verbally, it is human nature to become defensive. That name calling never gives good results in any situation.

And more often than not a mistake is not the end of the world. I am sure that the next batch of DB310 will work perfectly fine for her project.

And just maybe she will turn out to be happy to have an excuse to buy more beads.

And just maybe I will quell yet another one of my human traits and not allow such negative emails and name calling get under my skin.