The Flaw In The Tower Of Pisa

How A Flaw Becomes Cause For Celebration

They say that it took close to two hundred years to construct the entire structure of what is known as the Tower of Pisa.



Wonder how he would have reacted, the architect who designed the structure, were he alive when it was finally completed and inaugurated and thrown open to the public to watch and admire? The reason why there is the epithet of "Leaning" before the name of the tower, they say, is because the foundation was too shallow, and that the choice of the location incorrect as the soil was weak and unstable. The poor architect would have held his head in his hands at his folly! And, depending on the disposition of the government of the day, perhaps run for cover, or jumped bail or hired expensive lawyers to defend himself.



But, no, look how the flaw has become cause for celebration. Had this mistake not been made, the tower would have been yet another high-rise structure, yet another bell tower like any other, with nothing beyond archaeological and academic interest. But the architect's mistake has made him a world celebrity; and tourists from all around flock to this city in Italy to especially ogle at it and take pictures standing next to it. Indeed, so famous has this glaring mistake become, that the tower dwarfs the other arts and artifacts that the city holds in her bosom.



Flaws and mistakes shouldn't lead to dejection, you see. If there is cause to atone and repent, by all means, let's do it. But the beauty of making mistakes is that they give an opportunity to learn. Imbibing the lesson is very important, for unless it is well and truly assimilated, it tends to repeat itself. Wonder when the Pisa tower architect realized that he had erred? And whether he used the new-found wisdom for his other projects?



Try to not make any mistakes. And if they happen to be made, learn from them. And move on. This is life after all. For what may be considered to be a mistake at one point of time might well become a cause for celebration at a subsequent point of time!