Why is being right so important?
This is a picture of the grave markers at the Soldiers and Sailors’ cemetery at Gettysburg. Back then, being right meant freedom for many people. Sometimes that still exists today.
But I’m really talking about the everyday arguments we have, the squabbles that cause rifts in families or between friends. Unless it’s a matter of life, death or freedom, how important really is it?
I know many times when I pushed my viewpoints on others, thinking how important it was to let them know what I believed to be right. All that did was alienate people and make me appear to be a pompous know-it-all.
Over the years, I’ve tempered a lot. Yes, I still have my bouts, but they are much fewer and much father between. I think age brings a bit of wisdom that, right or wrong, the truth is what it is. Whether people choose to understand it or believe it isn’t so important. What’s important is love.
Today I think the intense desire to be right is something that only destroys my peace of mind. In five minutes, five days or five weeks, how important will it really be? So now I can let it go so much more quickly, even though I may bite my tongue on occasion.
Many soldiers (now called troops) have paid the ultimate price for our freedom…their lives and their quality of life. By comparison, my being right means nothing.
