Sunday, March 05, 2006

Do I want to be right, or do I want to be happy?

I am drinking jasmine tea and in a contemplative mood on this rainy Sunday afternoon. My thoughts...

There comes a time in most close relationships where this question becomes important:

Do I want to be right, or do I want to be happy?

I've had to grapple with this question today. The DH (dear husband), marvelous as he is, sometimes does things that make no sense to me. In fact, sometimes I get pretty frustrated and angry. Not helping matters any is my fondness for being right.


But in being right, I actually lose a lot. I lose a sense of the other person's perspective. I lose my ability to listen and be patient. I lose my ability to be quiet and humble. And I lose the bigger picture. Like - does this really, really matter? Probably not. Too often, I react quickly, forget this question, and then regret my response. If only I could pause and ponder this question before I responded. I would choose happy. Being right doesn't live up to its reputation.

Peace,
Stephanie

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

There is much power in seeing multiple "rights."

Anonymous said...

I always want to be right. I think I need to apply your wisdom to my current relationship.