Author: Syed Suhail Ahmad
July 12, 2025
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The wind rustled softly through the garden, carrying the scent of rosemary and old earth. Emil sat cross-legged on the porch steps, chin resting on his palm, watching two sparrows chase each other over the stone wall.
Grandfather sat behind him, carving a piece of olive wood. He paused when he noticed Emil’s long silence. “You’re unusually pensive today.”
Emil sighed. “I keep thinking about what happened in school today. My friend Ali got in trouble—again. He cheated on an exam, even though he saw what happened to Sam last month for doing the same thing. It’s like no one ever learns.”
Grandfather nodded thoughtfully. “That is one of the oldest puzzles of human nature.”
He set down the carving and leaned forward. “Let me ask you something, Emil. What’s more valuable—learning from your own mistakes, or learning from someone else’s?”
Emil thought for a moment. “From someone else’s, I guess. You avoid the pain and still gain the wisdom.”
“Exactly,” Grandfather said, tapping his temple. “The wisest of people study not only books—but also lives. They observe. They reflect. They absorb lessons without always having to pay the price themselves.”
He picked up a cracked mirror from the garden shelf and held it toward Emil. “This mirror is broken, yet it still reflects. Others’ mistakes are like this—imperfect, sometimes painful to look at, but full of truth. If you look carefully, you’ll see a version of yourself and what to avoid.”
Emil nodded. “So you’re saying we don’t have to fall into every hole ourselves to know it’s deep?”
“Exactly. If a man truly learns from others’ mistakes, he may walk with fewer scars. That’s not cowardice—it’s intelligence. But you know why many don’t learn, Emil?”
Emil looked up.
“They think, ‘That won’t happen to me.’ Pride blinds them. Or they’re too distracted to notice the warning signs in someone else’s story.”
Grandfather’s voice softened. “And yet, the most enduring legacies are built by those who listened before they had to learn the hard way.”
He looked into Emil’s eyes. “You want to be wise? Then become a quiet observer. Every downfall has a lesson. Every fall carries a message. Make other people’s mistakes your teachers, not your destinations.”
Emil smiled. “So I can grow… even from what I didn’t do?”
Grandfather chuckled. “That’s the secret. Learn not just from what you live—but from what others lost.”
The sparrows landed near them now, peaceful, chirping softly in the golden light.
And in that quiet moment, Emil realized: even the errors of others could become stepping stones—if only he had the eyes to see, and the heart to heed.