"Would you rather be right, or would you rather be happy?"
Now that was a hard one to answer when I was new. In fact, my answer back then was, But I was right! He/she/they were wrong! It has nothing to do with being happy! How wrong I was. By clinging to my self-righteous pride and ego, I fought a lot of people and a lot of things to maintain my right to be right. In the end, I was right about one thing: there was little happiness in my life.
In addition, I paid a steep price for this stubbornness. Living in opposition to people, places, and institutions takes a lot of energy, and it constantly creates resentments. And resentments will kill me. In order to stay alive, Ive had to learn to forget about who is right or wrong, and instead to focus on my part. Mine is the only part I can control, and if my side of the street is clean, then I become open to the only real solution to any situation: forgiveness, surrender, and acceptance.
Today, I know that while I may not always have the opportunity to be right, I always have the choice to be happy. By doing a Tenth Step each day, and looking at and correcting my part, I get to forget about who is right, and I get to be happy and free instead. I have found that it is a lot easier to live in harmony with people, places, and things today. And Id rather be happy than right.
