This idea and statement have come up for me several times in the past few weeks, during my reading, meditation, and as a focus for my self-improvement in 2021. It is a concept I have been admittedly bad at for most my life.
I believe we all value being right, having our experiences, education, and thoughts, validated by others as being more righteous than those who oppose us. But as what cost is being “right” worth the damage we inflict?
For every time we are right, that would mean there has to be a conflict or battle to establish who was “wrong”. Yet, in our experiences how many times does this exhaustive battle feel good to us? For me I usually felt worse. I felt like an idiot for arguing and ruining a moment to be “right” over some inconsequential trivial matter.
How many times did this desire limit our ability to understand the experiences of another human being who also believed they were right? What future collaborations were missed, partnerships never formed, and ideas never shared because of this need.
This idea seems especially poignant now, given the current situation in our country and the healing that may or may not occur depending on our focus.
Are we so convicted of our righteousness that we will forgo peace, prosperity, and happiness, for our neighbors, community, and country, to continue arguing about who is or who is not right?
I will be focused on seeking peace in my conversations, my communities, and in my life, knowing very well some of my right could have been wrong, if only I would have listened more.
#Fridayfocus