“I’d recommend the high road to anybody. You wonder about it and you don’t really appreciate it until you do it and you find that it worked for everyone. But I recommend it.” –Curtis Joseph
There isn’t much that can be said about taking the high road, other than the fact that it certainly is the road less traveled by. When in the heat of the moment, it is admittedly hard not to lash out at an opponent. It is not easy to back down. Self-restraint is a thing of discipline, and it takes great discernment- something that has taken a long time for me to come to terms with.
My mother and I, self-proclaimed “always right-ers,” often have trouble taking the higher road. Sometimes we take others for granted, discounting their arguments in place of a not-so-justified, indignant, dismissal. This act of dominance is wrong. We are mistaken. I will never admit it, but I am wrong, as everyone is at one point or another. It is in the moments that I insist I am right in the face of being wrong that I take the gutter. The high road, taking my guard down and admitting defeat, physically pains me, at times, to think about. I may not realize it then, but it hits me later. Confession: I am not always right. I am not always right. I am not always right.
Picking your battles, in my experience, is perhaps the strongest defense possible. If days are spent constantly fighting over near nothing, little will come of it but bitter exhaustion. Take time to step back, smell the roses, and put into perspective what it is you’re fighting for (or against). Life is not always a match to be won- it is a series of difficulties that we must overlook to move forward. Not getting stuck, however, often proves to be the hard part.
It is so easy to get sucked into the idea that being “right” leads to a personal justification/satisfaction in the eyes of others. In fact, being wrong, sometimes, paves the way for a new experience. Taking this freshly-paved road to unknown success is daunting. No one knows where they may lead, but trust is essential to rebuilding what was once thought to be lost. Whether the loss in question is suffered by a cruel twist of fate or by a simple error, not feeding into the disparity of loss is where human nature allows for the development of a desirable virtue- maturity.
There are many ways to take the high road- and although for stubborn people, they are not always easy, they are well worth it. Being wrong is not always a bad thing. Letting things go is good. Don’t lose sight of who you are and what’s important to you. Take a deep breath. Take things as they come. You are a flawed individual who is not always right, but you are loved. This too shall pass, and the storm inside of you will be quelled with acceptance and understanding. Everyone else thinks they’re right sometimes too. Coexist. Sympathize. Empathize. Begin to walk a mile in someone else’s’ shoes. They are probably, at times, also stuck on a road of dissension without even knowing. And when your fists are clenched, and your eyes are welled with tears, or when a back-handed comment comes and nails you right in the face, and your chest burns and all you want to do is run away and cry and have everything feel good when it's just so wrong, take the high road. Be patient along the detour. Good things take time. Good things are worth what they take.
