Today we’ll be exploring a new way of seeing failure.

In a Western, individualistic, achievement oriented culture like our own, it’s easy to imagine that belonging comes from being successful – including being successful with food. This can create feelings of urgency (“I need to fix/get myself together”) and make us feel like there’s something that we have to do before we can rest and feel safe in our relationship with ourselves and others.

But what if we turn failure on its head? What if failure – and human imperfection – is not what makes us outcast, or anything we need to improve, or fix, or resolve. But rather, what if failure is the very seat of our belonging?

What if we already belong because of our failures?

What if mercy and failure are deeply intertwined, and in fact, a state of deep rest?

How might that make approaching times of “failure” feel different?