Notes By The Wayside #42 – If You Must Fall, Fall Toward the Good

No man stands perfectly upright forever.

You will slip.

You will break your word.

You’ll speak too harshly, or stay silent when you should have acted.

You'll fail.

That doesn’t mean the path is over.

There are ways to fall that make you weaker—and ways to fall that still shape you into something stronger. If you must fall, fall in the direction of the good. Toward humility. Toward truth. Toward the version of yourself that still believes there’s value in rising again.

Fall with your hands open. Not clenched in bitterness. Not pointing in blame. Let the failure teach you something you couldn’t see while standing tall.

A man who falls with pride will break. A man who falls with awareness can land like a seed.

The goal was never to be flawless. The goal was to keep becoming—especially when it's hardest. If all you can do today is fall in the right direction, then fall that way. And tomorrow, stand straighter than before.