Peace – Gut Check Time

Thank you for following my ten part series on peace.  I hope it has been worth your time and effort so far.  In my experience, today is where we separate the men from the boys, or the women from the girls, as the case may be.  I know how much the following suggestion has brought peace into my life.  And I know how much it can just flat out kick my butt to take this step at times!  Just keepin’ it real, here folks.  Ready?…

8. Admit when you are wrong. Ouch, OUCH, OUCH!!! Sorry, that was the sound of me kicking my self in the shins.  Saying “I’m sorry” is tough.  It just isn’t a pleasant experience.  It deflates the ego and slaps the pride.  Saying “I was wrong.  And I’m sorry.” goes to whole other level of humility that may seem about as appealing as having a root canal without anasthesia.

There is something universal in the human spirit that compels us all to want to be right.  And to want others to see us as being right.  Be honest.  Isn’t that true for you?  It is for me.  My wife would certainly agree.  She gets to see it more than anyone.  But I’m not alone here, am I?

Wanting to be right is really a good thing.  Really.  As if the world isn’t a bad enough place, imagine if everyone actually wanted to be wrong.  YUCK!  By all means, keep striving for rightness every day of your life.  I hope and pray you will, just as I hope and pray I will be striving for rightness every day.

Let’s just be realistic enough to acknowledge up front that sometimes we won’t be right, no matter how hard we try.  We all fall short and make mistakes.  Sometimes we are just wrong.  Welcome to the human condition.  A dear friend and mentor shared this recommendation with me recently.  “When you find yourself ready to say how stupid or dumb or ridiculous you are, try calling your self ‘human’ instead.”  Great tip!

And for those rare occasions (yeah, right!) when we are wrong, our lives will be better if we will admit it.  Pretending we are right and everything is okay does not make that the reality.  Better to live in the truth.  I screwed up.  I was wrong.  I’m sorry.  (And, if need be…)  Please forgive me.

Tough pill to take.  Strong medicine.  But, oh, so healing.  And the peace it brings!!!

Can you remember times in life when you admitted you were wrong?  What made it hard to do?  What happened as a result?  Did you feel better or worse for your admission?  Are you living with a lingering wrong that needs to be admitted and made as right as possible?