Here is a little secret about me and my shortcomings.

I want to be right.  And I want other people to agree that I am right.  I think all of us might be this way a little bit.

Let’s face it.  We know best, gosh-darn-it.  Yes.  Ours is the best way to do something, the smartest solution, the right way of thinking on this and that.

We are humans.  We have brains, which think.  And think… they DO.   As such, our opinions on the world and everything in it… are the strongest.  That’s just it.  We think we know.

Simply enough, it is the way we humans are. At least, that is the way this human is.

I am learning to release a whole lot of that.  I am smart enough, truly… to know that I don’t know anything for sure.  I certainly don’t know the best way to do a lot of things.  I know people who are amazing at things.  And they have qualities I do not possess.

Community leaders, financial wizards, business gurus. entrepreneurs.   I can continue… with gifted artists, healers in massage and touch, singers, and musicians.  Scientists, handymen*, bakers, mechanics, mathematicians, seamstresses*, doctors, historians, lawyers, and the list goes on.

I am learning that there are a whole lot of people who know better than I do.  That becomes a fine line sometimes… especially when we feel very strongly about this or that.  It takes some big courage to stand up and speak at times.   On the other hand…. it takes even more courage to open our minds and listen.  One thing I have learned for sure… my ears have never gotten me in to trouble.  Open my mind, and my heart, and let me accept other possibilities exist.

There is no doubt.  We should be our own authentic selves, and start by living a life that makes us happy.  This will radiate to others.  I have seen it with my own eyes.   And others…. they deserve the respect to be “whoever” their genuine selves are.   They are living a different life than you and I.  What might be good for one person may not be good for another.   Kindness, understanding, and compassion, yet once again.

So… that’s what I think about all of this.
I’m pretty sure I’m right on this one.  Don’t argue with me.

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We have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak.  —  Epictetus

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Listen with the intent to understand, not the intent to reply.  —  Stephen Covey