Monday, February 15, 2010

the tyranny of being right


i am coming to see how the tyranny of being right has been such a force in my life


and such a waste


my relentless drive to do the right thing,

be in the right,

know the right things,

be in the right place,

have the right thing to say,

be right in the fight,

be on the side of right,

know the right people


but constantly answering myself


"Am i right?"


was sometimes my only solace


i could be lonely and heartsore and unhappy


but right was such a comfort


and now i wonder whether it really was...


or was this urge to be right just another "protective" layer (protecting me from what??? change? connection? flexibility?)


and was this protection actually harming me - keeping me rigid and unwavering.


isn't grace the fluidity and effortlessness of being...


who am i to say what is right...


i can say what is right for me ( only for right now, because that to may need to move)


but i cannot say what is right for anyone else


wars have been always about both sides thinking they are right


and the desperate need to prove we are right is separating us not healing...


i might try giving it up


would that be the right thing to do?

7 comments:

  1. applauding this post......
    talk about food for thought.....
    thank you!!!

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  2. Right on Teri...(ha ha i am finding all sorts of opportunities to laugh at right!) xxx

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  3. I struggle with this too ~ almost daily... Damned Scottish pride!

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  4. Wonderful post, faerian.
    I grew up always feeling "wrong" and carried that into my adult life, even to this day.
    I never knew what was "right", but now I think it's like beauty. It's in the eye of the beholder. And the beholder can choose whether to accept the belief. Or not. Right? Am I? Am I right?

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  5. i agree with you mollie - about it being in the eye of the beholder - maybe instead of saying we are right we should just say we concur! that feels much more collegial and loving to me than the stiff edged right!

    as for that Scottish Pride me... there may be something to that!

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  6. So wise! Thank you for your clear reflections where we can see ourselves, too!

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  7. takes one to know one elizabeth - o owner of the biggest looking glass i have encountered for many years!

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