“All mistakes teach us something, so there are, in reality, no mistakes.” - Nikki Giovanni

Now here’s an invitation to shift your perspective and to live more freely, embracing the lessons embedded within your imperfections.

Nikki Giovanni, a poet whose words and presence moved mountains. Born Yolande Cornelia Giovanni Jr. in 1943, she became a leading voice in Black Arts and Black Power movements. Her poems like *Ego-Tripping* and *Knoxville, Tennessee* captured the richness of Black life and imagination, blending sharp societal critique with deep personal insight. Giovanni’s book *Love Poems* won the NAACP Image Award, and her collection *The Selected Poems of Nikki Giovanni* is a testament to her range and brilliance. She wrote about love, justice, and everything in between with an honesty that resonates across generations. Nikki was also unapologetically queer, an aspect of her identity that enriched her work and underscored her courage to live authentically.

Nikki’s words and works remind us that there’s no perfection in this life—just growth. As a therapist, I often see clients who are paralyzed by their mistakes. They’re burdened by guilt or shame, unsure how to move forward. And yet, these very mistakes—the ones they wish had never happened—are often the moments that catalyze the most profound growth. Giovanni’s wisdom encourages us to reframe these experiences not as failures but as necessary steps on the path to becoming who we are meant to be.

Imagine, for a moment, that your mistakes are your greatest teachers. What might you learn from them? Let’s say you’ve recently ended a relationship. It’s tempting to focus on what you did wrong or how you could have prevented the breakup. But what if you looked deeper? Maybe that relationship taught you about your boundaries, your communication style, or your capacity to forgive. Perhaps it’s helped you recognize patterns that no longer serve you. 

One of the most powerful aspects of Giovanni’s poetry is her ability to transform the ordinary into something sacred. In her collection *Quilting the Black-Eyed Pea*,she weaves together themes of resilience, family, and identity, showing us that even the most challenging experiences can become sources of strength. Similarly, in therapy, we work to find meaning in the seemingly mundane or painful. A missed opportunity, a heated argument, or even a lapse in judgment can become a springboard for self-awareness and change.

Embracing your mistakes isn’t easy. It requires vulnerability and a willingness to sit with discomfort. It means acknowledging the parts of yourself you’d rather ignore and finding compassion for those parts. Giovanni reminds us that life’s detours and missteps are as much a part of the journey as the moments of triumph. And we can be freed from the limits of perfectionism and be more free within ourselves. 

Today, we say goodbye to Nikki Giovanni, a true luminary who taught us to see ourselves more clearly and love ourselves more deeply. We are lucky to have been with her during this timeline, her poetry and prose will continue to inspire us to embrace our humanity fully. 

f you don’t know who she is, or haven’t read her work… google. You won’t be disappointed.