The Night Edison's Mistakes Burned Away

One winter evening in 1914, Thomas Edison was settling in for supper at his home when an agitated colleague burst in with alarming news: his laboratory in West Orange, New Jersey, had erupted in flames.

Edison's response was remarkably composed. He calmly turned to his son Charles and said, "Go get your mother and all her friends. They'll never see a fire like this again." Then, with characteristic equanimity, he added, "Make sure she knows I'll be back for supper."

As Edison watched his life's work engulfed in flames, reporters gathered at the scene, expecting to find a devastated man.

Instead, they encountered the inventor's indomitable spirit. When asked about the catastrophic loss, estimated at $1 million (over $23 million in today's terms), Edison smiled and mused, "Well, there's some value in disaster. All our mistakes are burned up. Now we can start fresh again."

Then, with a twinkle in his eye, he added, "You know, at my age, life might get boring without a few dramatic moments like this."

The psychology of drama in our lives follows a fascinating paradox: in periods of calm, we often manufacture excitement, but in chaos, we yearn for tranquillity.

Research shows that humans are remarkably skilled at turning mundane moments into theatrical productions – our brains seem hardwired to seek narrative tension even in its absence.

But we're equally talented at forgetting that drama is meant to be the spice of life, not its substance.

Like method actors who never break character, we sometimes become so immersed in our daily performances that we forget we're just playing a part.

The most successful people don't eliminate drama entirely—they recognise it as a seasoning rather than the main ingredient.?

Sometimes, the best way to handle life's theatre isn't to exit the stage but to remember that you're also the audience.

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Source: https://njhistory.wordpress.com/2008/12/08/hello-world/ ?

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