What is Right
Let me just summarize the real message: It’s okay to be right. Being right has a long-deserved aura of high-mindedness. It sounds correct and the ultimate way to go. Acknowledging rightness means that something has been figured out and we can all move on to the next area. When being right goes wrong, it is none of those things. That is the shadow side of being right. So, when you want to be right, it is important to do it in the correct way.
Rebellious Right
There are good rebels in the world. Their right is often not what we think right is. Real rebels break down patterns that need to be blasted away. Sometimes rightness needs to be rebuilt. Right has a shelf life. Rebels are often not welcome, and their messages are easily disregarded. When we don’t want to accept or even listen to the thoughts of rebels, our pettiness shows up to block the message. We like to give more than we receive. Rebels will probably solve all the real-world issues if permitted. Rebel rightness needs to be celebrated and encouraged. But it should never dismiss or hurt anyone else just to prove a point. That’s not right.
Brave Rights
It is brave to live in a world that is not always right. I often make a statement out loud when I want to be brave enough to share something that I know will be difficult for someone else to hear. To discourage the building of a wall of defensiveness, I place my feelings first and admit my need to be brave to help them understand that we are in the discussion together. By being brave, a permission to not be right lets us know that it is okay to investigate what right really means. Because the truth is that we are all right. Yes, my earlier summary stills stands. If our choice to be right doesn’t seem correct to another, that doesn’t automatically take away its rightness. The actual value of what is right is only found after communal search.
You are Right
It’s very satisfying to hear agreement. In all forms. We were hard-wired to want to remain right so that we are not accidently eaten when we went outside the cave to check on the weather. Our ancestors were the right ones; that’s enough to know today. In order to better define what is good about being right, we can do more. We can look for the right everywhere. We can acknowledge rightness. Instead of wondering what a rebel was trying to break open, we can wonder if they are actually improving the definition of right over the past one. When we understand the message that we can all actually be right, we all get a chance to add to the conversation. Being all right brings us closer.
Is it possible that we can all be right? Can you accept the rebel’s rightness? How often do you acknowledge what is right?
