My cousin was a diver. He made it to the Olympic trials and might have had a career piercing water with no splash, but his life took a half twist. He became a parole officer and listened to every excuse ever concocted. That added color to the books he wrote about spiritual awareness. Some of us tend to fabricate excuses for why we deserve to get angry or fling blame. Staying stuck may seem easier than change. Just ask a caterpillar. Oops. He wouldn't know. Yet.

My cousin's years jumping off the high dive added a dimension to his wisdom as well. 

"I learn something when the dive goes perfectly. I learn something else when I make a belly flop. Both are worth knowing."

Maybe sometimes we want to truncate those discoveries, and cherry pick the easy ones. But a lot can be gleaned from failure. When my husband feels hurt by my words but keeps his feelings to himself I lose a chance to speak more carefully. His response has something to show me, even if it hurts as much as a belly flop. And heeding him may get me a little closer to slicing the water with no splash.